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Gordon,  Andrew,  d.  1887. 
Our  India  missions 


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1855--1885, 


Our  India  Mission 


A  THIRTY  YEARS'  HISTORY  OF  THE  INDIA  MISSION  OF  THE  UNITED 
PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  OF  NORTH  AMERICA, 


TOGETHER   WITH 


PERSONAL   REMINISCENCES. 


BY   THE   REV.   ANDREW   GORDON,  D.    D. 

THE  OLDEST  MISSIONARY. 


WITH   IPORTY   IlL.lL.TJSTRATIO:srS. 


ANDREW  GORDON : 

914  Filbert  Street,  Philadelphia. 

1886. 


Copyright,  1886, 
By  ANDREW  GORDON. 


INQUIRER  PRINTING  CO., 

STEREOTYPERS  AND  PRINTERS, 

LANCASTER,  PA. 


TO 

MY  FELLOW  WORKERS  m  INDIS 
THIS  BOOK 

IS 

RESPECTFULLY  AND  SFFECTIONHTELY 

DEDICATED. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 

BY  THE  REVS.  \V.  W.  BARR,  D.  D.,  AND  J.  B.  DALES,  D.  D.  (PRESIDENT  AND  COR- 
RESPONDING SECRETARY  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS  OF  THE  UNITED 
PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH  OF  NORTH  AMERICA.) 

SOME  years  ago  we  made  the  suggestion  to  the  Rev. 
Andrew  Gordon,  D.  D.,  that  he  should  write  a  history  of 
the  India  Mission.  The  suggestion  was  made  because  we 
knew  from  conversations  with  him,  and  from  his  famiharity 
with  the  field  and  the  work  from  the  beginning,  that  he  was  in 
possession  of  the  material  necessary,  and  was  in  a  position  to 
produce  an  intensely  interesting  volume. 

For  the  reason  indicated,  and  to  promote  the  interests  of 
the  mission,  the  work  was  undertaken.  We  have  had  the 
privilege  of  hearing  portions  of  the  manuscript  read,  and  of 
perusing  most  of  the  proof-sheets  as  the  pages  have  been  pass- 
ing through  the  press ;  and  we  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  our 
most  sanguine  expectations  have  been  far  more  than  realized. 
Dr.  Gordon  has  produced  a  volume  of  surpassing  interest. 
We  have  not  been  so  fascinated  by  any  other  book  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Missions  that  has  fallen  into  our  hands.  We  were  asked 
to  read  some  parts  of  the  work  for  the  purpose  of  correcting 
the  proof  Invariably  we  would  forget  the  errors  in  type  be- 
cause enchanted  with  the  story.  We  might  refer  to  the  chap- 
ter descriptive  of  the  field,  the  chapters  on  the  Sepoy  rebellion, 
those  relating  to  certain  native  laborers,  as  of  the  greatest 
dramatic  interest;  but  we  could  hardly  make  a  selection,  and 
say  that  one  chapter  is  more  charming  than  another.  We  feel 
sure  the  reader  will  agree  with  us  when  we  say  that  there  is 
not  a  dull  page  in  the  book.  Even  the  statistics  are  so  intro- 
duced as  to  greatly  increase  the  pleasure  of  perusal. 

The  style  is  delightful  for  its  simplicity  and  artlessness,  and 

(v) 


VI  PREFATORY    NOTE. 

yet  on  many  a  page  it  is  highly  dramatic  and  truly  eloquent. 
We  recommend  the  work  without  any  qualification  or  hesita- 
tion, and  we  feel  assured  that  the  reader  will  agree  with  us  in 
the  judgment  of  it  which  we  have  here  so  freely  and  cordially 
expressed.  We  only  add  that  it  is  our  conviction  that  the  ex- 
tensive circulation  of  this  volume  will  greatly  conduce  to  the 
advancement  of  the  cause  of  Missions  in  general,  and  thereby 
to  the  glory  of  God  in  the  promotion  of  his  cause  among  the 

nations. 

W.  W.  Barr, 

Philadelphia,  March,  1886.  J.  B.  Dales. 


AUTHOR'S   PREFACE. 


THAT  the  story  of  a  Christian  mission,  estabhshed  in  a  dark 
portion  of  benighted  heathen  India  as  recently  as  the  year 
1855,  feebly  sustained  from  the  first,  and  at  times  ready  to 
perish,  but  now  having  its  eight  organized  churches,  its  scores 
of  Christian  schools,  its  theological  and  literary  institutions, 
and  its  Christian  community  of  more  than  three  thousand 
souls,  should  be  given  to  the  public,  will  not  be  called  in  ques- 
tion. That  the  thirtieth  anniversary  of  the  mission,  whilst 
some  of  the  early  laborers  yet  live,  is  a  suitable  time  to  pub- 
lish the  story,  will  hardly  be  disputed ;  and  the  deep  and  in- 
creasing interest  awakened  among  the  friends  of  foreign  mis- 
sions by  the  astonishing  success  which  is  even  now  burdening 
and  overwhelming  the  inadequate  mission  band  with  work, 
seems  to  demand  a  history  of  the  mission. 

That  the  writer  is  the  most  suitable  person  to  record  this 
history  may  not  be  quite  so  clear.  Should  the  critic  judge 
that  it  would  have  been  more  proper  for  me  to  leave  the  writ- 
ing to  others,  instead  of  placing  myself  in  the  unpleasant 
situation  of  one  who  is  compelled  to  make  frequent  mention 
of  himself  and  his  personal  labors,  I  shall  not  protest,  but  hum- 
bly offer  my  apology :  As  in  commencing  the  mission  thirty 
years  ago,  I  acted  in  6bedience  to  others — not  on  my  own 
motion — so  now,  in  undertaking  to  write  its  history,  I  have 
obeyed  the  wishes  of  the  worthy  President  and  venerable  Cor- 
responding Secretary  of  our  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and 
of  other  esteemed  friends,  whose  judgment  I  could  not  pre- 
sume to  set  aside  in  deference  to  my  own.  At  the  same  time, 
moved  by  an  enthusiasm  in  that  which  has  been  and  is  my 
Sfreat  life-work,  and  having  the  main  facts  of  the  mission's  his- 
tory  from  the  beginning  treasured  up  in  memory  and  ready  at 

(vii) 


via  AUTHORS    PREFACE. 

hand,  I  have  thought  it  fitting  that  I  should  devote  a  portion 
of  the  leisure  afforded  by  a  visit  to  my  native  land,  to  the 
agreeable  task  of  writing  that  which  may  awaken  the  interest 
of  others  in  the  cause  of  foreign  missions,  as  well  as  keep  my 
own  interest  alive  while  temporarily  absent  from  the  field. 

My  first  idea  was  to  write  only  an  account  of  the  extraor- 
dinary religious  movements  among  the  Meg  and  Chuh'rd 
tribes,  without  any  reference  to  the  earliest  years  of  our  mis- 
sion. But  my  trusted  counsellors  desired  a  connected  history 
of  the  mission  from  its  beginning ;  and  in  yielding  to  their 
wishes  I  have  been  obliged  to  introduce  the  personal  pronoun 
I,  especially  in  narrating  the  events  of  those  lonely  days  in 
which  the  mission  consisted  but  of  myself  and  family  ;  if,  there- 
fore, the  considerate  reader  will  skip  over  the  embarrassing 
introductory  chapters,  he  may  rest  assured  that  I  shall  not 
take  offence  at  the  seeming  slight,  as  I  might  do  in  case  I 
were  addressing  him  orally,  and  he  should  stop  his  ears  or 
attempt  to  close  my  mouth. 

But  why  wnte  at  such  length  ? 

A  nervous  dread  of  wearying  my  friends  with  many  words 
has  accompanied  me  through  every  page  of  the  book ;  and 
yet  I  have  felt  it  proper  to  yield  some  deference  to  the  just  de- 
mands of  my  subject.  Could  the  suggester  of  brevity  but  see 
what  masses  of  interesting  material  I  have  left  out,  and  what 
seas  I  have  skimmed,  taking  only  the  cream,  he  would  surely 
hold  his  peace,  or  complain  that  I  have  not  given  him  two 
volumes  instead  of  one. 

Why  devote  two  whole  chapters  to  the  Sepoy  mutiny  ? 

One  chapter  might  have  sufficed  for  all  that  can  be  strictly 
styled  the  history  of  our  mission  during  the  five  dreadful 
months  of  that  reign  of  terror ;  but  had  I  coldly  and  selfishly 
traced  only  our  own  record  through  those  scenes  of  blood  and 
fire,  unaccompanied  by  any  suitable  memorial  of  our  less 
favored  neighbors  and  dear  friends  who  fell  at  the  hands  of 
the  remorseless  Sepoy,  who  would  have  forgiven  me  the  un- 
pardonable omission? 


AUTHORS    PREFACE.  IX 

The  reader  will  find  comparatively  little  concerning  the  for- 
eign missionaries,  and  much  about  the  natives.  This  is  inten- 
tional. It  were  an  easy  matter  to  have  written  a  volume  con- 
cerning the  foreign  missionary,  his  movements,  his  methods, 
his  institutions,  his  labors  and  his  sufferings;  but,  avoiding  this 
superficial  treatment  of  the  subject — too  much  resorted  to — I 
have  given  prominence  to  the  natives,  by  narrating  at  some 
length  their  conversions,  labors,  sufferings  and  achievements  in 
connection  with  the  great  religious  movements,  believing  that 
the  development  of  the  work  among  the  people  to  whom  we 
are  sent  is  the  very  essence  of  foreign  missionary  enterprise. 
Yet  the  missionaries  are  by  no  means  overlooked,  being  sev- 
erally introduced  to  the  reader's  acquaintance  as  they  arrive  in 
India,  and  afterwards  becomingly  recognized  on  all  suitable 
occasions. 

The  forty  costly  illustrations,  consisting  of  mission  schools, 
maps,  groups  of  native  workers  prominent  in  the  history,  and 
portraits  of  the  native  ordained  ministers,  and  of  the  American 
missionaries,  have  all  been  engraved  especially  for  this  work, 
by  a  process  which  justly  claims  to  reproduce  a  more  perfect 
likeness  from  the  photograph  than  is  possible  by  any  other. 
The  fact  that  good  photographs  of  some  few  of  the  missionaries 
were  not  procurable,  will  account  for  a  diversity  in  the  appear- 
ance of  the  engravings. 

If  the  style  of  composition  should  in  some  instances  appear 
cramped,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  my  aim  often  is  to  give 
a  literal  rather  than  an  elegant  rendering  of  the  sayings  of  illit- 
erate natives;  I  should  not,  therefore,  be  judged  in  this  respect 
as  though  free,  like  a  writer  of  fiction,  to  create  and  combine 
incidents  at  pleasure,  and  then,  in  their  narration,  to  soar  un- 
fettered upon  the  wings  of  imagination. 

If  it  be  asked  why  I  have  so  largely  adopted  the  dramatic: 
form  of  composition,  I  answer:  Because  this  could  not  be 
avoided,  the  exciting  religious  movements  being  in  themselves, 
really  dramas.  When  a  crowd  of  heathen  hear  the  gospel,  they 
are  divided,  some  hearkening,  whilst  others    stop  their  ears:. 


X  AUTHORS    PREFACE. 

some  joyfully  exclaim,  "  It  is  the  truth,"  and  cleave  afiection- 
ately  to  him  who  brings  the  glad  tidings :  others  contradict  and 
revile,  or  walk  angrily  away,  muttering  curses  and  threats. 
When  a  native  confesses  the  name  of  Jesus,  his  father  and  mo- 
ther, brother  and  sister,  father-in-law  and  mother-in-law,  turn 
bitterly  against  him;  his  wife  and  children  are  separated  from 
him;  his  distressed  friends  and  relatives  gather  about  him  to 
weep  and  mourn,  falling  prostrate  before  him  with  abject  en- 
treaties, and  moving  him  with  their  pathetic  appeals.  The 
rulers  and  scribes  approach  him  with  learned  arguments,  place 
him  upon  the  witness  stand  to  answer  difficult  questions,  and 
when  he  has  given  his  testimony,  pronounce  him  a  pervert  and 
a  blasphemer,  and  pass  sentence  upon  him.  His  neighbors, 
chagrined  by  the  burning  disgrace  and  fired  with  pious  zeal  for 
their  ancestral  gods,  hold  indignation  meetings,  strip  him  of 
his  worldly  goods,  beat  him,  excommunicate  him,  and  cast  him 
out.  The  Christians  persecuted  in  one  village  flee  to  another, 
and  are  ofteri  without  any  certain  dwelling-place:  being  reviled, 
they  bless ;  being  persecuted,  they  meekly  submit ;  defamed, 
they  entreat.  They  suffer  hunger,  thirst,  nakedness  and  buffet- 
ing, and  are  counted  as  the  filth  of  the  world — the  off-scouring 
of  all  things.  By  the  fire  of  these  persecutions  the  wood,  hay 
and  stubble  are  consumed;  out  of  it  come  forth  the  gold  and 
silver,  tried  and  purified  for  the  Master's  building.  Enemies 
beholding  the  faith  and  patience  of  the  suffering  disciples,  are 
converted,  and  give  glory  to  God ;  and  in  the  midst  of  these 
scenes  the  Lord  is  building  up  a  glorious  Church,  as  enduring 
and  indestructible  as  the  eternal  Rock  upon  which  it  rests. 
The  narration  of  such  scenes  as  these — a  prominent  feature  of 
the  book — must  naturally  fall  into  the  dramatic  form  of  com- 
position, which,  I  trust,  may  interest  and  profit  the  reader  none 
the  less  for  being  not  fiction,  but  fact. 

I  cannot  conclude  without  expressing  my  grateful  acknowl- 
edgments to  my  numerous  friends  who  have  assisted  me  in  the 
preparation  of  this  work. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAFTER  PAGE 

I.  "Go" 17 

II.  The  Voyage 31 

III.  From  Calcutta  to  SiaKkot 39 

IV.  Beginning  under  Pecuniary  Embarrassments 52 

V.  Bird's-eye  View  of  the  Field 60 

VI.  Building  our  First  Mission  Home      S9 

VII.  The  Revs.  George  W.  Scott  and  Elisha  P.  Swift  ....  102 

VIII.  Reinforcement — Beginnings  of  Mission  Work 113 

IX.  The  Sepoy  Mutiny 128 

X.  Mutiny  Continued — Tragedies  of  the  9th  of  July,  1857    .  143 

XL  Our  First  Church  Edifice 165 

XII.  Our  First  Converts — 1857-64 173 

XIII.  The  Mission  Orphanage,  1857-64 183 

XIV.  Thomas  Stinson— A  Noted  Brahmin 188 

XV.  Religious  Awakening  among  the  Megs 191 

XVI.  Fourteen  Noteworthy  Events 207 

XVII.  Religious  Awakening  among  the  Megs,  Continued    .    .  211 

XVIII.  Among  Wolves 231 

XIX.  The  Unsuccessful  Suitors 249 

XX.  Reinforcements — Colonizing  Native  Christians     ....  259 

XXI.  The  Missing  Family 267 

XXII.  Visit  to  the  Tiger's  Den 282 

XXIII.  Kana'ya's  Second  Trip  to  the  Kashmir^  Capital    ....  305 

XXIV.  The  Hu^kam 310 

XXV.  Found  at  Last— Joy  at  Scott  Garh 357 

XXVI.  The  Outcome 365 

XXVII.  Boys'  and  Girls'  Orphanai^es,  1865-75 379 

XXVIII.  Conclusion  of  the  Second  Decade  of  Our  Mission    .    .    .  393 
XXIX.  Conversion    of     Muhammad    Alim — Work     Begun    in 

Jh'i^lam 402 

XXX.  Reinforcements      416 

XXXI.  Religious  Movements  Amoni;'  the  Chuh^ras 421 

XXXII.  The  Work  in  Gurdas'pur,  a  New  Field 433 

XXXIII.  Sowing  and  Reaping 449 

XXXIV.  Our  Institutions 464 

XXXV.  Our  Institutions,  Continued 482 

XXXVI.  Visit  of  the  Commissioners — -Then  and  Now — Conclusion.  492 

(xi) 


MRS.  REBECCA   C.  GORDON. 


OUR  INDIA  MISSION. 


CHAPTER  I. 

"  GO." 

THE  PRIMARY  MEETING  IN  ALLEGHENY  CITY — MONEY  PLEDGED  TO 
START  THE  MISSION — MISSIONARIES  NOMINATED  AND  ELECTED — 
MANY  REFUSE  TO  GO — OUR  APPOINTMENT — DIFFICULTIES — A  STRUG- 
GLE—  "I  CANNOT  go" — "WHAT  A  WONDER  YOU  WERE  NOT  KILLED!" 
DIFFICULTIES  VANISH — MISS  GORDON'S  APPOINTMENT — PREPARATIONS 
— FAREWELL,   SWEET   HOME — FAREWELL,    DEAR   NATIVE   LAND. 

ON  the  invitation  of  the  venerable  Dr.  James  Rodgers,  the 
pastor  of  a  large  congregation  in  Allegheny  City,  five 
earnest  Christians  met  in  his  church  one  night  to  consider  the 
subject  of  Foreign  Missions.  Those  five  persons  were  Messrs. 
John  Alexander  and  James  Mc  Candless,  Mrs.  Gordon,  Mrs. 
Lockhart  and  Dr.  Rodgers.  The  night  was  a  very  stormy 
one,  and  Mrs.  Gordon,  having  left  her  children  in  her  house 
alone,  became  very  anxious  to  return  to  them;  but  Dr. 
Rodgers  mildly  exhorted  her  to  confide  them  to  the  care  of 
her  Heavenly  Father,  and  so  persuaded  her  to  remain.  At 
this  little  primary  meeting,  India  was  selected  as  the  field  in 
which  they  would  seek  to  found  a  Mission.  When  telling  his 
people  from  his  pulpit  the  next  Sabbath  what  they  had  done, 
Dr.  Rodgers  said  with  a  great  deal  of  feeling  that  their  meeting 
was  a  prayer  meeting,  and  a  glorious  one,  and  he  believed 
that  good  would  come  out  of  it.  This  was  followed  by  larger 
meetings  at  which  Dr.  Rodgers  endeavored,  by  means  of  maps 
and  lectures,  to  acquaint  his  congregation  with  India,  and  to 
cherish  the  interest  which  they  already  felt  in  its  evangeliza- 
tion.    When   the   Associate    Presbyterian    Synod    of    North 

2  (17) 


1 8  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

America  met  in  Pittsburgh,  in  May  1853,  this  congregation, 
together  with  a  sister  congregation  in  Pittsburgh,  urged  that 
body  to  establish  a  mission  in  India,  and  pledged  ;^6oo  a  year 
for  its  support.  The  Synod  at  once  resolved  to  enter  upon  this 
work.  After  prayer  for  guidance,  they  put  the  names  of  ten 
ministers  in  nomination,  in  the  hope  that  some  of  them  would 
be  willing  to  accept  appointments  as  missionaries,  and  they 
designated  a  committee  to  address  the  churches  on  the  subject 
of  the  proposed  mission ;  but  no  one  of  the  ten  professed 
himself  unreservedly  and  unconditionally  willing  to  accept 
such  an  appointment.  The  year  1853,  therefore,  passed  away 
without  a  beginning  being  made. 

At  the  time  when  this  narrative  begins  I  was  licensed  to 
preach  the  gospel,  and  was  under  appointment  to  preach  for  a 
few  weeks  to  a  vacant  congregation  in  the  suburbs  of  New 
York ;  I  had  a  similar  appointment  in  Philadelphia,  and  was 
next  to  labor  in  some  of  the  western  States.  It  was  a  matter 
of  course  that  I  should  be  looking  forward  and  thinking  more 
or  less  about  a  settlement,  weighing  the  comparative  claims 
and  advantages  of  the  widely  different  fields  that  lay  before  me. 
I  thought  of  old  wealthy  congregations  which  were  vacant  in 
eastern  New  York,  of  missionary  ground  in  and  around  our 
large  Atlantic  cities,  and  of  the  new  and  sparsely  populated 
fields  of  the  far  west ;  but  felt  no  strong  and  decided  preference 
for  any  of  them.  It  may  be  said  that  I  was  in  a  state  of 
■  equilibrium,  with  just  a  perceptible  tendency  towards  some 
region  midway  between  the  East  and  the  West,  in  the  United 
.States.     Foreign  fields  were  not  taken  into  account. 

In  the  latter  part  of  May  and  first  of  June  1854,  the  Asso- 
ciate Presbyterian  Synod  held  its  annual  meeting  in  the  Rev. 
S.  F.  Morrow's  church  at  Albany,  N.  Y.  Being  within  a  few 
hours'  distance,  I  went  in  one  day  to  witness  their  proceedings, 
not  as  a  member  of  that  body — for  I  was  not  ordained — but 
as  a  spectator,  looking  on  intently  from  a  pew  in  the  farthest 
corner  of  the  church.  As  already  stated,  the  Synod,  at  their 
.meeting  in  Pittsburgh  in   1853,  had  definitely  determined  to 


GO    YE   THEREFORE.  1 9 

establish  a  mission  in  India ;  but  having  failed  to  secure  mis- 
sionaries, and  being  in  doubt  as  to  whether  they  had  taken  the 
right  way  of  selecting  them,  they  were  now  earnestly  discuss- 
ing the  proper  mode  of  choosing  and  appointing  their  first 
missionaries  to  that  heathen  country.  Some  of  the  members 
said,  "  Call  for  volunteers  as  we  have  been  doing,  and  do  not 
appoint  men  until  we  know  they  are  willing  to  go;  one  vol- 
unteer is  worth  two  of  such  as  go  out  because  it  is  required 
of  them."  Others  said  in  reply:  "Not  so;  but  let  us  choose 
men  whom  we  judge  to  be  qualified,  and,  should  they  refuse 
to  go,  leave  upon  them  the  whole  responsibility  of  their 
refusal."  The  advocates  of  this  latter  course  spoke  eloquently 
and  earnestly,  and  quoted  the  example  of  our  Scottish  fore- 
fathers who,  in  former  and  better  days,  suspended  young 
preachers  for  refusing  to  go  where  they  were  sent.  This  prin- 
ciple met  with  general  favor,  and  on  it,  as  a  new  basis  of  action, 
an  election  was  held  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  when  two  of 
the  same  young  men  who  had  so  very  forcibly  advocated  this 
principle  in  the  morning  were  chosen.  When  they  were 
called  on,  and  arose  to  announce  their  decision,  their  subdued 
tone  and  downcast  looks  were  in  marked  contrast  with  what 
had  been  displayed  in  the  morning,  and  the  breathless  atten- 
tion of  the  Synod  seemed  greatly  to  embarrass  them,  whilst 
one  of  them  declined  the  appointment,  and  the  other  urged 
such  difficulties  in  the  way  of  accepting  it  that  he  was  re- 
leased. 

When  this  business  came  up  again  the  next  morning  as  the 
order  of  the  day,  the  members  seemed  anxious  for  an  early 
adjournment.  But  an  aged  minister — the  Rev.  Alexander 
Murray — obtaining  the  floor  with  difficulty,  opened  the  Bible 
at  Acts.  xiii.  i,  and  read  as  follows:  "Now  there  were  in 
the  church  that  was  at  Antioch  certain  prophets  and  teachers; 
as  Barnabas,  and  Simeon  that  was  called  Niger,  and  Lucius 
of  Cyrene,  and  Manaen,  which  had  been  brought  up  with 
Herod  the  Tetrarch,  and  Saul.  As  they  ministered  to  the 
Lord,  and  fasted,  the  Holy  Ghost  said,  Separate  me  Barnabas 


20  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

and  Saul  for  the  work  whereunto  I  have  called  them.  And 
when  they  had  fasted  and  prayed,  and  laid  their  hands  on 
them,  they  sent  them  away."  After  reading  this  passage, 
Mr.  Murray  sat  down  without  making  any  comment,  and  the 
voting  commenced. 

The  tellers  gathered  up  the  ballots,  and  walking  up  to  the 
Clerk's  desk  began  to  read  them  aloud.  After  the  reading  out 
of  the  first  one  it  was  deemed  better  not  to  read  the  ballots  one 
by  one  aloud,  and  the  counting  proceeded  in  silence.  The 
one  which  had  been  read  out  contained  the  name  of  Andrew 
Gordon.  This  balloting  did  not  result  in  the  election  of  any 
one.  The  subject  of  Foreign  Missions  then  gave  place  to 
other  urgent  business;  and,  taking  the  train,  I  went  up  to 
spend  a  few  days  with  my  friends  in  Johnstown,  N.  Y.,  fully 
believing  that  the  commencement  of  our  India  Mission  would 
not  take  place  that  year. 

A  day  or  two  later  the  Rev.  James  McArthur,  who  followed 
us  to  Johnstown  on  a  visit  to  his  friends,  began  gently  to 
break  the  news  to  us  by  asking  my  wife  how  she  would  like 
to  go  to  India.  We  then  learned  that,  before  adjourning,  the 
Synod  had  once  more  taken  up  the  subject  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions, discussed  their  men,  and  elected  two,  of  whom  the  Rev. 
J.  T.  Tate  was  one,  and  the  writer  the  other.  I  do  not  think 
I  ever  would  have  offered  of  my  own  accord  to  go  on  a 
foreign  mission ;  as  far  as  I  can  remember,  no  thought  of  do- 
ing this  had  ever  been  seriously  entertained.  But  the  whole 
circumstances  of  my  appointment,  unsought  and  unexpected, 
gave  it  to  my  mind  the  force  and  authority  of  a  clear  call  from 
the  Master.  As  soon  also  as  the  announcement  was  made 
there  sprung  up  a  positive  desire  to  "  go,"  which  did  very 
much  to  make  obedience  easy.  Had  I  volunteered  my  ser- 
vices and  on  this  ground  received  the  appointment,  I  believe  I 
should  have  experienced  misgivings  from  the  very  first.  But 
Moses,  Jeremiah,  Paul  and  Barnabas,  the  prophets  and 
apostles  in  general,  were  sent.  Some  of  them  were  very 
unwilling  at  first,  although  they  were  made  willing  afterwards ; 


"go  ye  therefore."  21 

and  I  have  always  felt  reassured  and  strengthened  by  reflect- 
ing on  the  fact  that  the  appointment  came  to  me  without  being 
suggested  by  myself 

With  the  path  of  duty  so  plain,  and  a  willingness  to  enter 
on  it,  still  it  was  not  found  a  very  easy  matter  to  come 
promptly  forward  and  say,  "  Here  am  I."  I  believe  it  may  be 
set  down  as  a  rule,  that  whenever  a  campaign  against  the 
Powers  of  Darkness,  and  in  the  interest  of  the  Kingdom  of 
God,  is  definitely  projected,  adverse  considerations  and  diffi- 
culties will  spring  up  like  an  armed  legion  to  stop  the  way. 
A  few  of  these  will  now  be  stated. 

First  of  all,  the  Rev.  J.  T.  Tate,  who  was  appointed  with  me, 
and  who  was  my  senior  by  several  years,  declined  the  appoint- 
ment. It  therefore  became  a  serious  question,  both  with  my- 
self and  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  whether  I  should  pro- 
ceed without  a  colleague,  or  suffer  the  mission  to  be  post- 
poned a  year. 

Then,  the  remarks  of  some  of  my  brethren,  who  had  thought 
much  on  the  subject  of  the  proposed  mission,  tended  to  dis- 
courage me  from  accepting  the  appointment.  One  thought 
there  was  no  suitable  man  in  our  church  for  this  work; 
another  said  he  could  not  blame  me  if  I  should  decide  not  to 
go ;  and  a  third  one  earnestly  opposed  my  going  by  the  use 
of  many  logical  arguments.  These  opinions  of  my  elder 
brethren  came  with  much  force  to  my  mind ;  for  I  was  young 
and  inexperienced,  whilst  the  magnitude,  difficulties,  and  re- 
sponsibilities of  the  undertaking  were  great ;  and  not  having 
uniformly  enjoyed  vigorous  health,  I  feared  I  might  not  be 
able  to  perform  hard  work  in  the  trying  climate  of  India. 
But  the  marching  order,  "  Go,"  more  than  counterbalanced 
these  considerations. 

Then  again,  my  wife,  naturally  an  ardent  lover  of  home  and 
quiet  retirement,  felt  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  yield  her  con- 
sent, whilst  it  was  no  less  difficult  for  the  little  home  circle  to 
give  her  up.  The  outlook  required  resolute  courage.  Our 
route  to  India  lay  around  the  southern  coast  of  Africa,  through 


22  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

the  boisterous  Southern  Ocean,  crossing  and  recrossing  the 
Equator  under  a  scorching  sun,  requiring  a  tedious  voyage  of 
from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  days  on  the  fathom- 
less deep,  without  the  rehef  of  a  landing,  and  with  scarcely  a 
sight  of  land.  The  merchant  sailing  vessels,  in  one  of  which 
our  voyage  was  to  be  made,  were  designed  for  profitable  trade, 
but  not  at  all  for  the  comfort  of  passengers.  Compared  with 
such  a  voyage  as  this,  the  short,  speedy  and  varied  trip  in 
comfortable  passenger  steamers  via  England,  the  Continent 
and  Egypt,  which  was  then  too  expensive  for  a  missionary 
party,  has  been  fitly  called  "  a  pleasure  excursion."  The  ideal, 
too,  of  a  true-hearted  missionary  in  those  days  was  very  like 
that  of  an  exile  for  life,  with  little  more  than  a  vague,  dream- 
like hope  of  ever  returning  ;  for  the  custom  of  revisiting  home 
once  in  ten  years,  which  has  become  practicable  in  these  days 
of  swift  and  cheap  travel  by  "  short  cuts,"  was  not  then  estab- 
lished— at  least  it  was  not  definitely  set  down  in  our  programme. 
To  one  of  a  retiring  disposition,  therefore,  the  prospect  of  thus 
leaving  fifteen  or  sixteen  thousand  miles  of  ocean  to  roll  for  an 
indefinite  term  of  years  between  her  and  the  home  of  her  child- 
hood, of  meeting  only  strangers  in  a  strange  land,  of  enduring 
the  heat  of  a  tropical  climate,  and  of  rearing  a  family  exposed 
to  heathen  influences,  was  formidable  indeed.  The  struggle 
in  her  mind  between  duty  and  inclination  was  intense,  and  it 
was  almost  equally  so  in  the  minds  of  her  parents.  Her  father 
was  a  man  remarkable  for  calm  temperament,  correct  judg- 
ment, and  few  words.  In  this  case  his  judgment  approved  of 
our  going,  but  I  labored  in  vain  to  obtain  his  consent.  "  I 
would  be  very  glad,"  said  he  to  me,  "  if  you  could  see  it  your 
duty  not  to  go."  He  would  say  to  himself  with  deep  emotion 
as  he  went  about  his  work,  uttering  the  words  slowly  in  an 
earnest  and  emphatic  whisper,  "  /  never  can  give  my  consejtt." 
Her  mother,  too,  often  retired  to  weep  and  pray  by  herself 
alone.     Thus  the  weeks  moved  slowly  and  sadly. 

Deep  and  intense  as  were  parental  affection  on  the  one  side, 
and  filial  on  the  other,  there  was  another  current,  stronger  and 


GO    YE   THEREFORE.  23 

deeper  still,  running  silently  in  the  opposite  direction.  The 
Lord,  who  reigns  supreme  in  the  hearts  of  his  children,  was 
preparing  them  to  make  the  sacrifice.  It  was  observed  that 
these  pious  parents,  whatever  they  felt,  and  whatever  they 
might  say  to  others,  never  once  spoke  a  word  to  their  daughter 
against  going.  A  single  word  from  them  might  possibly  have 
decided  the  whole  matter,  or  rendered  a  difficult  duty  far 
more  difficult;  but  they  abstained  from  all  interference,  even 
when  they  knew  that  she  was  giving  her  consent,  and  that 
our  acceptance  of  the  appointment  was  being  made  public. 
What  was  still  more  significant — it  came  to  be  understood 
that  they  intended  to  drive  to  town  some  day  and  have  their 
daguerreotypes  taken  for  us.  The  important  significance  of 
this,  and  the  preciousness  of  the  relic,  will  be  better  understood 
from  the  fact  that,  in  a  lifetime  of  eighty-six  years,  this  was  the 
first  and  last  time  that  Mr.  Smith  ever  sat  for  his  likeness. 

One  evening  a  very  influential  and  highly  respected  friend 
visited  the  family  and  remained  over  night.  The  question  of 
our  going  to  India  was  discussed  until  late  that  evening,  and 
was  reopened  early  next  morning.  Our  friend  was  bent  on 
stopping  us  if  he  could.  Our  acceptance  of  the  appointment 
had  been  made  public,  and  we  had  even  procured  our  pass- 
port; yet  he  most  earnestly  opposed  our  going,  urging  many 
considerations  to  dissuade  us  if  possible.  After  exhausting  all 
other  resources,  he  made  a  direct  appeal  to  Mrs.  Gordon  her- 
self, who  had  hitherto  sat  only  as  a  listener  to  the  discussion, 

"Do  you  intend  to  take  that  little  girl  with  you  to  India?" 
he  said,  pointing  to  the  child  nestled  in  her  lap. 

"  Most  certainly,"  she  answered,  "  Wherever  /  go,  I  will  of 
course  take  my  babe." 

"  Will  you  indeed  ?"  he  added,  in  a  tone  of  fatherly  concern., 
"  Then  you  will  certainly  repent  when  you  reach  India  and 
see  what  kind  of  society  she  will  have,  and  understand  the 
baneful  influences  to  which  she  will  be  exposed — body  and! 
soul." 

Mrs,  Gordon,  no  longer  able  to  refrain,  burst  into  tears,  and' 


24  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

giving  full  vent  for  the  first  time  to  long-pent  grief,  exclaimed, 
"It  is  too  much  !     I  cannot  undertake  it.     I  cannot  go  y 

Our  friend  said  no  more.  Feeling  no  doubt  that  he  had 
trespassed  on  delicate  ground,  he  looked  embarrassed  and 
went  away,  leaving  us  all  overwhelmed  with  fresh  sorrow — 
perplexed  and  dumb. 

After  a  time  Mr.  Smith  broke  the  silence  by  remarking  in 
his  grave  deliberate  manner,  giving  us  time  after  every  word 
to  weigh  it  well  before  the  next  one  came,  "  That — was — not 
— proper." 

There  was  a  great  deal  of  meaning  in  these  four  words — far 
more  than  if  uttered  by  many  another  man ;  for  not  one  man 
perhaps  in  ten  thousand  knew  as  well  how  to  bridle  his  tongue 
as  Elder  Smith;  his  remark  was  therefore  justly  regarded  as 
strong  language.  But  its  greatest  importance  lay  in  the  proof 
it  gave  that  reaction  in  favor  of  our  departure  had  decidedly 
set  in  at  the  head  of  the  family. 

"  I  say,"  said   Mr.  Smith  again,  as  he  and  I  strolled  through 

the    orchard,  "that    was  imprudent  in   Mr. .     It  was 

wrong !  You  well  know  that  my  grief  at  the  prospect  of  part- 
ing with  Rebecca  is  very  great,  yet  I  have  never  uttered  one 
word  against  it  to  her ;  whatever  I  have  said  was  to  you  and 
others,  but  never  to  her.  Poor  child !  I  fear  the  effect  of  this 
great  strain  may  be  serious.  Her  soul  was  sufficiently  vexed 
without  all  this." 

Mrs.  Smith  also  expressed  her  disapprobation  in  strong  terms. 
However  much  she  grieved  at  the  prospect  of  separation,  she 
thought  that  intermeddling  after  such  a  manner  was  not  just 
the  right  thing,  especially  after  matters  had  gone  so  far,  the 
time  being  almost  at  hand  when  we  were  expected  to  sail. 
"And  now,"  said  she  to  us,  "we  will  drive  to  town  according 
to  previous  arrangement,  and  have  our  pictures  taken  for  you. 
You  two  will  have  the  house  all  to  yourselves.  Talk  the 
whole  matter  over  by  yourselves  alone,  with  prayer,  and  see  to 
what  decision  you  can  arrive  by  the  time  we  return." 

This  excellent  counsel  we  endeavored  to  follow.     Turning 


MISS   ELIZABETH   G.  GOKDON. 


GO    YE   THEREFORE.  25 

to  the  second  Psalm,  we  pondered  the  words  of  God  to  his 
Eternal  Son  ; — "  Ask  of  me,  and  I  shall  give  thee  the  heathen 
for  thine  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for 
thy  possession,"  Was  not  this  to  be  brought  about  by  agents 
like  us,  sent  forth  as  we  were?  Turning  next  to  the  great 
commission  in  the  28th  of  Matthew,  we  read:  "  Go  ye  there- 
fore, and  teach  all  nations,  *  *  *  and  lo,  I  am  with 
you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world.  Amen."  Surely 
— we  said — something  of  this  great  command  and  standing 
pledge  of  our  risen  Lord  has  come  down  to  us ;  and  can  we 
refuse  obedience?  Then  we  thought  of  the  prophet  Jonah 
who  refused  to  go  as  he  was  bid ;  and  we  imagined  ourselves 
in  Jonah's  plight  if  we  should  follow  his  example  in  refusing 
to  go.  And  finally,  we  endeavored  to  estimate  the  value  of  a 
soul,  and  the  joy  of  winning  such  a  prize  and  of  rejoicing  with 
a  saved  one  forever — and  we  concluded  that  a  life  work  of 
thirty  years,  should  it  be  so  long,  would  be  richly  rewarded  by 
even  one  genuine  conversion. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Smith  returned  from  town  in  the  evening. 
As  we  met  them  at  the  door  their  excited  countenances  told  us 
in  a  moment  that  something  unusual  had  happened.  "  Do 
you  know,  Rebecca,  what  has  happened  tome!"  exclaimed 
Mrs.  Smith,  as  she  rolled  up  her  sleeve  and  displayed  a  bloody 
wound  which  she  had  received  from  the  ball  of  a  careless 
hunter's  rifle, 

"Oh,  mother!"  said  Rebecca,  "what  a  marvelous  escape! 
How  very  easily  that  ball  might  have  struck  your  heart 
instead  of  your  arm!  What  a  mercy  it  is  that  neither  of  you 
was  killed!" 

"Yes,"  said  Mrs.  Smith,  "and  little  Euphemia,  here,  was 
sitting  between  us;  the  ball  passed  close  by  her  head.  Com- 
ing from  our  right,  from  a  point  a  little  forward  of  us,  it 
crossed  our  way,  and  might  have  killed  any  one,  or  even  all 
three  of  us." 

"  Now,  mother,  this  is  without  doubt  intended  to  teach  us 
that  we  are  no  safer  at  home  than  we  would  be  on  the  ocean, 
or  in  a  heathen  land." 


26  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

"  Yes,  daughter,"  said  Mrs.  Smith,  "  this  is  the  very  lesson 
which  I  have  learned." 

And  so  the  chief  difficulty  which  lay  in  our  way  was  re- 
moved. 

Some  time  during  the  summer  I  made  another  visit  to  my 
old  home  in  Johnstown,  N.  Y.  In  earlier  days  the  family 
circle  there  consisted  of  nine  members.  Some  of  these  had 
been  removed  by  death,  others  had  married,  and  the  two  or 
three  remaining  members  were  not  likely  to  continue  much 
longer  under  the  old  roof  My  sister,  Miss  Elizabeth  G.  Gor- 
don, was  practically  the  head  of  what  remained  of  the  family. 
Knowing  that  she  had  for  some  time  been  actively  engaged  in 
Sabbath-school  work,  I  asked  her  whether  she  was  willing  to 
go  with  us  to  India  as  a  teacher.  "  Yes,"  was  her  prompt 
reply,  "  I  will  go  if  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  see  fit  to 
send  me."  The  proposal  was  laid  before  the  Board,  who  gave 
her  the  appointment;  and  so  another  rough  place  in  our  path- 
way was  made  smooth.  I  was  not  now  to  go  out  without  a 
co-laborer,  and  my  wife  was  to  have  a  sister  companion. 

Whilst  dwelling  upon  the  difficulties  and  discouragements, 
I  must  not  forget  to  note  also  the  encouragements.  The 
Revs.  Abraham  Anderson,  D.  D.,  and  Thomas  Beveridge, 
D.  D.,  Professors  in  the  Theological  Seminary  at  Canons- 
burg,  Pa.,  under  whom  I  had  recently  completed  my  course 
of  training,  encouraged  me  to  go  forward,  expressing  only 
some  doubt  as  to  my  health.  Words  of  approval  and  encour- 
agement from  my  own  teachers,  one  of  whom  had  known  me 
from  childhood,  were  quite  assuring. 

The  Rev.  James  Patterson  met  me  as  I  was  entering  Pitts- 
burgh, and  kindly  persuaded  me  to  turn  back  with  him 
to  Allegheny  City,  that  he  might  introduce  me  to  some  of 
the  prominent  friends  of  our  mission  in  the  place  where  the 
mission  itself  was  born.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Rodgers,  the  original 
mover  in  this  enterprise,  gave  me  a  hearty  shake  of  the  hand, 
and  said,  "I  hope  you  will  go  to  India" — one  of  his  reasons 
for  approving  of  my  appointment  being  the  fact,  as  he  said, 


"  GO   YE   THEREFORE.  2/ 

that  I  could  be  relied  on  to  conduct  the  missionary  work 
"  economically  r 

I  was  there  introduced  by  Mr.  Patterson  to  some  of  the 
wealthy  merchants  of  the  city,  who  manifested  a  lively  inter- 
est, and  spoke  cheering  words.  One  of  them  assured  me  that 
I  need  have  no  fears  whatever  in  regard  to  being  well  sup- 
ported. "I  now  give,"  said  he,  ";^ioo  a  year  for  the  Foreign 
Mission  cause,  and  if  we  only  had  a  man  on  the  field  and  at 
work,  I  could  give  three  hundred  dollars  as  easily  as  one  hun- 
dred." 

Of  three  eminent  physicians  in  New  York  and  Philadelphia 
whom  I  consulted  on  the  health  question,  one  opposed  my 
going  to  India,  on  the  ground,  as  he  said,  that  if  I  were  not 
compelled  to  go  he  thought  I  would  be  more  comfortable  at 
home.  Another  believed  that  with  proper  attention  to  the 
necessary  conditions  of  health,  I  would  be  as  healthy,  but  not 
as  strong,  in  India  as  in  America.  The  third  one,  although 
he  had  lived  in  a  tropical  climate,  declined  to  give  any  decided 
opinion. 

In  the  way  of  acquiring  information,  several  volumes  on 
India  and  India  missions  were  procured  and  read,  and  a  num- 
ber of  returned  missionaries  were  interviewed.  The  Rev.  Dr, 
J.  C.  Lowrie,  of  New  York,  Secretary  of  the  Presbyterian 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  having  spent  two  years  in  North 
India  as  a  pioneer  missionary,  was  in  a  position  to  advise  me 
intelligently,  and  from  him  I  learned  much  that  was  practically 
useful.  He  gave  me  some  idea  of  the  expense  which  must 
be  incurred  for  building  and  for  living.  He  warned  me 
against  attempting  to  live  in  a  small  house  in  the  climate  of 
India,  as  false  economy.  The  houses,  he  said,  would  seem 
at  first  to  be  unnecessarily  large  and  expensive;  but  I  would 
find,  by  experience,  that  large  houses  were  absolutely  neces- 
sary for  health.  He  expressed  grave  fears  lest  we  might  suf- 
fer for  want  of  funds,  those  who  were  sending  us  out  having, 
as  he  believed,  made  entirely  too  low  an  estimate  of  the  neces- 
sary expenses.     He  bade  us  God-speed,  for  he  was  glad  to  see 


28  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

missionaries  who  were   thoroughly  evangehcal  going   in   to 
labor  beside  those  of  the  society  which  he  represented. 

The  Rev.  J.  Newton,  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission  at  Lud- 
hiana,  was  at  that  time  in  America  for  a  rest.  As  he  had 
come  from  our  proposed  field  of  labor,  I  sought  and  obtained 
an  evening  in  his  company  at  the  residence  of  George  H.  Stu- 
art, Esq.,  of  Philadelphia.  Mr.  Newton  patiently  listened  to 
my  numerous  questions,  and  in  his  very  deliberate  and  sys- 
tematic way,  remarked  on  one  point  after  another,  setting  my 
mind  at  rest  in  regard  to  many  things.  He  believed  that  I 
had  a  reasonable  prospect  of  enjoying  good  health  in  an  In- 
dian climate,  if  I  would  only  take  advice.  Some  foreigners,  he 
said,  adhered  to  their  cold  climate  ide^s,  exposing  themselve? 
to  the  heat,  instead  of  employing  native  servants  ;  sweltering  in 
small  houses  to  avoid  expense;  and  living  without  pank'hds, 
lest  their  use  should  be  regarded  as  a  luxury.  In  all  such 
matters  I  must  learn  from  those  who  had  lived  in  India  before 
me,  and  then  I  would  have  no  special  reason  to  fear  in  regard 
to  health. 

In  order  to  reach  India  in  the  most  favorable  season  of  the 
year,  July  was  regarded  as  the  best  month  for  setting  out, 
when  persons  were  going  by  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  But 
August  was  now  passing,  and  we  were  beginning  to  inquire 
anxiously  for  a  ship.  It  began  even  to  be  doubtful  whether 
we  should  be  able  to  find  any  more  merchant  vessels  sailing 
that  year.  G.  H.  Stuart,  Esq.,  suggested  that  we  should  cross 
over  to  England,  where  we  would  find  lines  of  passenger  ships, 
comfortably  fitted  up  for  the  special  accommodation  of  pas- 
sengers, running  regularly  between  England  and  India  via  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  This  route  would  be  very  much  cheaper 
than  the  one  via  Egypt,  known  as  the  overland  route,  and 
only  a  few  hundred  dollars  more  expensive  than  the  route 
direct  from  America  in  a  merchant  vessel,  by  which  we  in- 
tended to  go.  "  But  what  are  a  few  hundred  dollars,"  said  Mr. 
Stuart,  "  compared  with  a  year's  delay  in  such  a  cause  ? "  I 
thought  Mr.  Stuart  a  wonderful  man,  when  he  could  speak  so 


"  GO   YE    THEREFORE.  29 

lightly  of  such  large  sums  of  money,  and  we  waited  for  an 
opportunity  of  going  in  the  cheapest  way. 

Time  has  blotted  from  memory  very  much  that  took  place 
during  our  last  few  weeks  of  waiting,  but  some  things  will  not 
be  forgotten ;  prominent  among  these  was  the  parting  scene 
at  the  country  home  near  St.  Clairsville,  O.  In  this,  too,  the 
young  folks  are  not  so  vividly  portrayed  on  memory's  tablet, 
for  they  cry  easily  and  find  relief;  but  there  is  something  very 
different  in  the  sorrow  of  a  mother,  a  father,  and  a  grand- 
mother. If  there  is  any  one  thing  more  potent  than  all  others 
to  make  us  hesitate — to  make  right  appear  wrong  and  a  clear 
duty  seem  doubtful — it  is  the  grief  of  those  whose  eyes  are  dim 
with  age.  Their  weeping  and  sobbing  and  refusing  to  be 
comforted  are  hard  to  witness,  and  harder  to  resist,  especially 
when  we  ourselves  are  the  cause.  Friends  and  neighbors  who 
come  to  "  see  you  off"  cannot  always  enter  fully  into  the  situa- 
tion, and  are  very  apt  to  think  they  "  ought  to  say  something." 
"  Be  brave  now,  and  don't  give  up  in  this  way."  "  Cheer  up, 
you  will  soon  forget  all  about  it."  "  If  you  feel  so  badly  now, 
what  will  you  do  away  off  there?"  "  Remember,  you  are  not 
your  own  any  more,  you  have  given  yourself  to  the  Master:" 
these,  and  such  like  goodish  exhortations,  are  apt  to  be 
thrown  in  for  the  purpose  of  lightening  the  burden.  They  do 
not  help  any  one  in  the  least ;  and  those  departing  will  very 
probably  remember  them  as  well  meant  but  awkward  intru- 
sions. Woj'ds,  unless  well  chosen,  are  not  in  place  at  all. 
Missionaries  and  their  friends  have  natural  affections  like  those 
of  other  people ;  and  the  very  best  thing  for  all  parties — those 
leaving  and  those  remaining,  young  and  old,  men  and  women 
— is  to  cry  to  their  hearts'  content  if  they  feel  like  it. 

Another  important  event  took  place  on  the  29th  of  August, 
in  the  Charles  Street  church,  New  York.  The' Presbytery 
met,  the  congregation  assembled.  The  Rev.  James  Thompson 
preached  a  sermon  on  the  words,  "  Now  then  we  are  embassa- 
dors for  Christ,  as  though  God  did  beseech  you  by  us ;  we 
pray  you    in   Christ's   stead,   be   ye    reconciled   unto    God." 


30  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

This  was  the  first  sermon  I  had  heard  preached  in  public  for 
my  individual  benefit;  after  it  was  concluded,  the  Presbytery 
prayed,  and  laid  their  hands  on  me,  and  solemnly  ordained 
me  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  North  India.  That  was  a  solemn 
hour,  in  which  I  was  clothed  with  a  responsibile  office  and  at 
the  same  time  formally  sent  away  to  my  great  life  work. 

The  prospect  of  our  getting  off  that  season  being  somewhat 
doubtful,  we  went  up  to  Johnstown,  N.  Y.,  and  were  waiting 
at  the  old  home,  when  suddenly  an  urgent  message  informed 
us  that  our  passage  was  being  engaged  in  a  ship  which  would 
sail  from  New  York  almost  immediately ;  and  we  were  noti- 
fied to  be  in  readiness  as  soon  as  possible. 

There  was  no  public  farewell  meeting  such  as  now  frequently 
marks  the  departure  of  Foreign  Missionaries;  but  a  number 
of  warm  hearted  friends,  whose  faces  and  names  can  still 
be  recalled,  were  spontaneously  drawn  together  on  the  occa- 
sion. Of  our  own  relatives,  Mr.  A.  K.  Murray  and  Mrs. 
Murray  came  in,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles,  from 
Florida,  N.  Y.  George  H.  Stuart,  Esq.,  came  over  from 
Philadelphia.  The  Rev.  H.  H.  Blair  and  Mrs.  Blair,  of  New 
York,  were  present.  Our  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  was 
represented  by  Rev.  D.  Donnan,  the  Secretary,  and  Mr.  H. 
Harrison,  the  Treasurer,  and  his  family.  Besides  these,  Mr. 
Ramsey  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  Mr. 
Alexander  Murray  from  the  New  York  Bible  House,  and 
Rev.  W.  Calderwood  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church, 
who  expected  to  follow  us  to  India  the  next  year,  completed 
the  very  select  company  of  friends  who  honored  the  occasion 
by  "accompanying  us  to  the  ship."  Most  of  these  joined  us 
in  religious  exercises  on  board  our  ship  whilst  she  was  being 
towed  down  the  bay.  Then,  affectionately  committing  us 
to  the  merciful  care  of  him  who  commands  the  winds  and  the 
waves,  they  returned  to  land  by  the  steam  tug. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE   VOYAGE, 
A   STORM — CALMS — ICEBERGS — A   COLLISION — LANDING   IN   CALCUTTA. 

IT  was  12  o'clock  on  the  28th  of  September,  1854,  when  our 
little  strong  ship  Sabine  began  to  move  out  from  her  moor- 
ing in  the  New  York  harbor.  As  long  as  we  could  recognize 
faces,  or  even  perceive  the  waving  of  a  handkerchief  landward, 
we  felt  disinclined  to  turn  away  and  put  our  quarters  in  order. 
Sea-sickness  was  rapidly  getting  the  better  of  us.  Our  two 
so-called  state-rooms  were  six  feet  long  by  five  wide,  and 
about  six  feet  high.  The  furniture  consisted  of  three  berths 
without  bedding,  and  one  small  furnished  wash-stand.  With 
this  much  ready  at  hand,  we,  in  dead  earnest,  set  about  com- 
pleting our  arrangements  for  a  long  stay.  But  a  large  carpet- 
bag, which  had  been  packed  full  of  articles  such  as  experi- 
enced voyagers  had  designated  as  necessary  in  sea-sickness, 
had  gone  astray,  and  was  not  to  be  found  even  after  long 
searching. 

The  next  morning  we  had  a  stiff  breeze,  which  gradually 
increased  to  a  gale,  and  by  the  third  night  we  were  plunging 
before  a  tempest.  It  was  all  in  the  right  direction,  and  was 
speeding  us  onward;  but  our  captain,  fearing  lest  the  ship's 
stern  should  be  dashed  in,  furled  sails,  hove  the  ship  to,  and 
presenting  her  strongest  and  sharpest  point  to  the  wind,  let 
her  "  lie  to  "  until  the  storm  was  spent.  I  will  not  attempt  a 
description  of  the  scene  inside  of  our  two  "state-rooms"  dur- 
ing those  three  stormy  days  and  nights.  It  will  perhaps  sug- 
gest all  that  is  necessary,  to  add  that  the  carpet-bag  full  of 
sick-bed  comforts  and  conveniences  did  not  come  out  of  the 
supercargo's  room  in  search  of  its  owners  until  both  the  storm 

(31) 


32  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

and  our  time  of  greatest  need  were  past.  After  this  rough 
beginning,  we  had  slow  sailing  and  adverse  winds  and  cur- 
rents, with  much  difficulty  in  keeping  far  enough  eastward  to 
pass  the  headlands  of  South  America  at  Cape  St.  Roque;  and 
we  were  no  less  than  fifty  days  in  reaching  the  equator. 

From  the  north  and  south  temperate  zones  the  tendency  of 
the  atmosphere  is  to  move  towards  the  equator,  producing 
those  gentle,  uniform  breezes  called  the  trade-winds.  But  on 
approaching  near  the  equator,  the  air,  instead  of  moving  hori- 
zontally, becomes  heated  and  moves  upward ;  the  consequence 
is  that  the  sea  is  usually  calm  near  the  equator.  Our  experi- 
ence was  the  same  when  crossing  the  tropics  both  in  the  At- 
lantic and  Indian  Oceans — two  or  three  weeks  of  calm  weather 
and  great  heat.  Working  across  these  calm  belts  is  a  most 
tedious  business;  it  is  not  sailing,  but  indolent  floating.  The 
restless  ocean  swells  and  falls  like  molten  glass;  the  vessel 
rolls  inertly,  first  to  one  side  and  then  to  the  other;  the  loose 
canvas  and  noisy  rigging  are  jerked  violently,  first  this  way 
and  then  that  way;  and  the  mariner,  in  spite  of  the  living  won- 
ders of  the  deep,  and  sunset  scenes  of  unparalleled  magnifi- 
cence, grows  weary  with  waiting  for  a  breeze. 

From  the  eastern  extremity  of  South  America,  following 
the  arc  of  a  great  circle  towards  a  certain  point  in  the  Bay  of 
Bengal,  we  touched  the  46th  degree  of  south  latitude,  fully  10 
degrees  south  of  Africa.  On  a  map  this  appears  to  be  a  round- 
about course,  but  in  reality  it  is  shorter  than  the  one  close  by 
the  coast  of  South  Africa.  Besides,  outward  bound  vessels 
would,  in  sailing  near  this  coast,  be  greatly  impeded  by  an 
ocean  current  which  runs  westward  with  a  velocity  of  about 
four  miles  per  hour;  whilst  10  degrees  farther  south,  the  cur- 
rent runs  eastward. 

In  these  southern  waters  we  found  it  cold,  gloomy  and  bois- 
terous. Snow  fell  on  the  deck  in  December  (mid-summer), 
and  icebergs  appeared.  The  first  of  these  we  passed  at  mid- 
day, and  as  it  was  probably  not  a  mile  from  our  course,  we 
enjoyed  the  sight  intensely.     It  was  thought  to  be  a  quarter 


THE   VOYAGE.  33 

of  a  mile  in  length,  and  the  same  in  breadth  at  its  water  line, 
spreading  out  much  wider  under  the  surface,  and  making  it 
dangerous  for  a  ship  to  approach  very  near.  The  portion 
above  water  was  roughly  estimated  to  be  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet  high.  The  sea  rolled  in  upon  its  shelving  shore,  curl- 
ing, breaking,  and  wildly  dashing  high  up  the  icy  cliffs.  The 
top  appeared  to  be  covered  with  a  fresh  fall  of  snow,  but  below 
this  all  was  a  solid  mass,  clear  as  crystal,  and  of  dazzling 
brightness.  As  it  melted  water  flowed  down,  cutting  its  way 
in  sharp  ravines,  and  preparing  the  mass  to  fall  in  pieces. 
This  beautiful  and  strange  sight  was  a  pleasant  relief  to  the 
monotony  of  a  tedious  voyage. 

A  few  days  later  we  came  upon  another  iceberg,  consider- 
ably larger  than  the  first.  I  believe  I  was  the  first  to  observe 
it  through  the  gray  mist  of  the  early  morning,  and  it  lay  right 
ahead  in  our  course.  Not  knowing  at  first  sight  what  it  was, 
I  hurried  to  the  captain,  and  asked  if  we  were  not  running 
upon  an  island. 

"  Why,  no ! — what — why — where  ?  What  d*  you  mean  ?  " 
he  stammered  out  hurriedly,  under  great  excitement;  then, 
shouting  orders  to  change  the  ship's  course,  he  exclaimed  im- 
patiently— "Another  of  those  dreadful  icebergs!"  A  few 
other  smaller  ones  were  seen  in  the  distance. 

The  best  running  of  the  whole  voyage  was  made  during 
three  weeks  when  we  were  in  this  southern  region,  where  an 
ocean  current  helped  us  forward.  The  wind,  uniformly  from 
the  west,  generally  brisk  and  often  rising  to  a  gale,  always 
blew  harder  in  the  night ;  and  the  officers  were  disposed  to 
carry  sail  and  make  speed  to  the  utmost  capacity  of  our  little 
ship.  One  stormy  night  she  "broached  to,"  causing  great 
alarm.  The  captain  had  accused  the  first  mate  of  cowardice 
in  not  keeping  up  enough  sail ;  the  mate  determined  to  show 
his  courage,  and  this  dangerous  accident  was  the  result. 

Those  floating  mountains  of  ice  were  not  down  on  the  chart, 
and  no  one  knew  how  many  might  be  in  our  path;  the 
thought,  therefore,  of  being  driven  upon  one  of  them  in  a  dark 
3 


34  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

stormy  night  gave  no  little  anxiety  to  our  whole  company,  and 
we  felt  special  need  to  "  abide  under  the  shadow  of  the  Al- 
mighty," who  has  said,  "  Thou  shalt  not  be  afraid  for  the  ter- 
ror by  night," 

The  voyage  was  tedious.  The  distance  traversed — indirect 
sailing  against  head  winds  included — was  about  seventeen 
thousand  miles.  The  only  land  sighted  was  two  barren  rocks 
called  Amsterdam  and  St.  Paul's.  The  only  visitors  who 
called  to  see  us  were  the  captain  of  an  English  ship  and  his 
wife,  who  were  invited  over  to  dinner  one  day  whilst  both 
ships  lay  becalmed  in  the  Indian  Ocean.  No  papers  told  us 
the  news.  No  letters  reminded  us  that  we  were  thought  of 
by  friends  far  away.  No  fruit  or  vegetables  came  aboard  to 
flavor  and  freshen  our  stale  fare.  Our  child  outgrew  her 
clothes.  New  garments  became  old  and  were  worn  out.  The 
events  of  the  voyage  faded  from  memory  in  the  monotonous 
past,  until  one  would  ask  another  whether  such  and  such  a 
thing  had  happened  in  October  or  November,  this  year,  or 
last.  As  we  moved  towards  the  sun-rising,  our  timepieces 
ran  wild.  The  very  heavens  tilted  up  from  the  south,  the  pole 
star  sank  out  of  sight,  the  sun  swept  up  to  the  north  at  mid- 
day, and  everything  combined  to  deepen  the  impression  upon 
our  minds  that  we  were  far,  far  away  from  our  dear  native 
land. 

Our  company,  as   I  remember  it,  numbered  twenty-seven 

;.souls.     Fourteen  of  these  were  sailors,  to  whom  it  was  unlaw- 

fM  for  us  to  speak.     With  the  steward  and  first  and  second 

;nia£es  also  it  was  not  proper,  according  to  ship  regulations, 

;ifQr  ius  to  be  sociable.     There  remained,  then,  besides  our  own 

.family,  six  others  who  were  our  constant  companions — the 

..captain  and  his  wife,  the   supercargo,   and  his  three  clerks 

"On  the  second  Sabbath  out  the  young  men  asked  us  to  sing 

some  songs,  as  they  were  fond  of  music  and  none  of  them  were 

singers.;  and  they  were  told  that  we  did  not  think  it  proper  to 

..  engage  in  mere  amusements  on  the  Sabbath.     From  that  time 

V  forward  .tkey  hated  us.      By  long  continued  familiarity  the 


THE   VOYAGE.  35 

peculiarities  of  these  five  men  became  indelibly  impressed 
on  our  memory.  One  of  them  had  no  definite  religious 
faith,  and  was  studying  Doctor  Channing — Unitarian — to 
"  form  correct  opinions."  Another  "  had  been  sent  to  Sab- 
bath-school until  he  was  sick  of  it,"  and  now  scoffed  at  the 
Bible  and  religion.  A  third  one  was  a  "  philosopher."  The 
fourth  seemed  a  teachable  lad  at  first,  and  joined  with  us 
at  worship ;  but  the  others  laughed  at  him  until  he  became 
thoroughly  ashamed,  and  to  regain  his  standing  among  them, 
he  soon  excelled  them  all  in  shameless  wickedness.  The  last 
on  the  list,  a  genial,  affable  young  man,  who  believed  himself 
to  be  a  Christian  of  the  highest  order,  was  a  Theologian,  fresh 
from  the  school  of  Theodore  Parker,  the  great  Boston  light ! 

I  made  it  a  point  never  to  begin  a  controversy  with  them ; 
but  my  affable  friend,  Mr.  E ,  could  not  help  forcing  me  in- 
to debate  on  the  Divinity  of  Christ — man's  inability  to  save 
himself  by  good  works — and  many  other  fundamental  doc- 
trines; and  the  rest  of  the  company  always  joined  him  eagerly 
in  the  discussion.  Unfortunately  for  their  cause,  they  did  not 
know  their  Bible ;  and  as  they  could  not  stand  before  it,  they 
became  angry,  and  for  a  few  days  would  not  speak.  They 
would  then  meet  together  and  read ;  and  when  they  thought 
they  were  well  loaded,  they  would  open  fire  agai-n,  But  after 
receiving  a  few  thrusts  from  that  which  is  "  sharper  than 
any  two-edged  sword,"  they  would  all  again  retreat  into  sullen 
silence.  I  was  not  conscious  of  exerting  any  good  influence 
over  these  men.  I  persevered  in  speaking  first,  on  meeting 
them  every  morning,  and  in  treating  them  courteously ;  but 
the  enmity  was  deep  rooted,  and  beyond  expressions  of  sur- 
prise which  one  of  them  made  at  my  forbearance,  no  per- 
ceptible impression  was  noticed.  It  had  been  agreed  before 
setting  out  that  religious  services  should  be  regularly  con- 
ducted, and  for  a  time  I  had  the  sailors  gathered  on  Sabbath 
mornings,  for  Bible  instruction ;  but  so  many  difficulties  were 
placed  in  the  way  that  it  became  necessary  to  discontinue 
everything  of  the  kind,  except  in  our  own  rooms  and  some- 


36  OUR    INDIA   MISSION. 

times  in  the<after  cabin.  To  be  thus  confined  within  a  small 
space  with  such  company  during  a  long  voyage,  to  meet 
them  daily  at  all  hours  of  the  day,  and  to  sit  with  them  face 
to  face  at  the  table  three  times  a  day  without  any  way  of 
escape,  were  the  unpleasant  features  of  our  voyage. 

But  there  was  also  a  "  sunny  side  "  to  our  voyage.  The 
captain's  wife,  who  was  a  humble  Christian,  was  heartily  in 
sympathy  with  us,  and  never  failed  to  join  us  in  worship  when 
we  met  in  the  after  cabin.  Our  good  natured  and  kind 
hearted  African  steward  always  took  good  care  that  we  should 
fare  as  well  as  the  best.  Novelties  outside  of  the  ship  now 
and  again  diverted  our  minds  and  made  us  all  forget  ourselves. 
In  calm  waters  the  nautilus,  inflating  itself  like  a  little  balloon, 
glided  about  the  ship  on  the  smooth  surface,  displaying  a 
variety  of  beautiful  colors.  Flying  fish  were  often  seen  dart- 
ing from  the  waves  in  shoals  and  sailing  above  the  surface  as 
far  sometimes  as  one  or  two  hundred  yards.  Albatrosses,  of 
all  feathered  tribes  the  most  graceful,  abound  in  the  Southern 
Ocean ;  and  as  they  hovered  about  in  search  of  food,  now 
lighting  on  the  water  in  our  wake  and  again  rising  with 
marvellous  ease,  they  afforded  us  many  a  pleasant  hour's  pas- 
time when  we  were  hundreds  of  miles  from  land.  The  wings 
of  one  that  was  caught  with  a  hook  spread  out  eleven  and  a 
half  feet  from  tip  to  tip,  whilst  its  body  measured  four  feet 
from  beak  to  tail.  Such  things  as  these  often  broke  up  mono- 
tony, dispelled  gloom,  and  revived  sociability. 
\  After  entering  the  Hooghly — one  of  the  mouths  of  the  river 
Ganges — we  still  had  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  to  sail 
up  the  river  before  reaching  Calcutta.  Ships,  steamers,  small 
craft  and  steam  tugs  moved  up  and  down,  presenting  a  lively 
scene.  We  anchored  at  night,  and  could  have  done  so  on 
Sabbath,  but  did  not.  About  sunset  on  Sabbath  evening  we 
met  a  ship  which  was  being  towed  down  stream  near  the  left 
bank  by  a  steam  tug.  Having  the  wind  and  tide  in  our 
favor,  we  were  sailing  up  stream  near  the  right  bank.  A  little 
before  the  two  vessels  should  have  passed  each  other,  as  they 


THE   VOYAGE.  37 

were  in  a  fair  way  to  do  with  perfect  safety,  a  strange  delus- 
sion,  caused,  it  was  believed,  by  liquor,  seized  the  pilot  of  the 
downward-bound  vessel.  He  thought  he  must  cross  above 
us  and  pass  down  between  us  and  the  right  bank ;  the  steam 
tug,  therefore,  according  to  his  order,  began  to  pull  away 
sturdily  right  across  the  river,  and  did  her  very  best,  but  was 
caught  under  our  bowsprit,  which  raked  her  deck  and  carried 
away  her  chimney.  The  ship  which  she  had  in  tow  then 
began  to  move  towards  our  starboard  bow,  and  a  dangerous 
collision  seemed  inevitable ;  for  she  had  no  means  of  checking 
her  motion  or  changing  her  course,  whilst  our  ship,  running 
close  to  the  wind  on  the  one  hand  and  near  the  bank  on  the 
other,  was  also  helpless ;  and  nothing  seemed  left  for  us  but  to 
keep  our  course,  brace  our  nerves,  and  take  whatever  should 
come.  Intense  excitement  prevailed  as  the  two  ships 
approached  each  other.  One  of  the  young  men  who  had  said 
that  he  needed  no  Saviour,  turned  very  pale  and  ran  up  and 
down,  crying,  "  We  are  going  down/  There  are  twenty 
fathojns  of  water!  We  are  all  going  down!"  Just  when  the 
two  vessels  were  about  to  collide  and  excitement  was  at  its 
highest,  the  stern  of  the  other  ship  was  observed  to  be  swing- 
ing down  the  stream ;  very  soon  the  ships,  both  heading  up 
stream,  came  side  to  side,  with  a  fearful  clashing  and  crash- 
ing of  rigging,  but  were  uninjured  below  the  water  line. 

The  two  responsible  officers  met  in  our  after-cabin  to  dis- 
cuss the  collision,  settle  damages,  and  scout  the  superstitious 
notion  that  Sabbath-breaking  had  anything  to  do  with  such 
accidents. 

As  you  near  your  anchorage  in  the  port  of  destination,  the 
desire  to  leave  the  old  ship  becomes  intense,  and  one  has  no 
doubt  about  dry  land  being  the  natural  abode  of  man.  Green 
fields,  trees  and  flowers  appear  more  beautiful  than  ever.  The 
sight  of  men,  animals,  and  vehicles  moving  about  affords  a 
pleasure  unknown  before.  Fresh  vegetables  and  fruits,  and 
water  that  is  not  drawn  from  old  casks,  are  partaken  of  with  a 
keen  relish.     The  refreshing  smell  of  land  is  a  delightful  con- 


38  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

trast  to  the  strong  smell  peculiar  to  a  ship.  The  monotonous 
splashing  of  water  upon  the  ship's  sides  gives  place  to  a  hun- 
dred musical  sounds,  which  charm  us  as  they  had  never 
charmed.  Even  the  howlings  of  jackals  along  the  jungly 
banks  of  the  Hooghly  are  music  to  a  weary  voyager.  Because 
first  associated  with  our  approaching  land,  pleasant  emotions 
are  still  awakened  by  the  hideous  cries  of  these  sneaking, 
detestable  scavengers  on  their  nightly  rounds.  Above  all, 
there  was  a  solid  kind  of  satisfaction  in  setting  one's  foot  down 
upon  something  that  does  not  roll  and  pitch,  after  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty-nine  days  of  tossing  upon  the  restless  ocean, 

"  Then  are  they  glad  because  they  be  quiet;  so  he  bring eth 
them  into  their  desired  haven.  O  that  men  would  praise  the 
Lord  for  his  goodness,  and  for  his  wonderfid  works  to  tJu  chil- 
dren of  men!" 


CHAPTER    III. 

FROM    CALCUTTA   TO    SIAl'kOT. 

THREE  WEEKS  IN  CALCUTTA — WAGON   RIDE  OF  IIOO  MILES — SOJOURN  IN 
SAHA'rANPUR — LOCATING  MISSION  HEADQUARTERS — 30O  MILES'  JOUR- 
NEY TO   SIAL^KOT — HOSPITABLE   RECEPTION. 

ARRIVING  at  Calcutta  on  the  13th  of  February,  1855,  I 
went  ashore  to  look  up  our  way  a  little  before  landing  the 
family.  The  first  English-speaking  man  I  met  on  shore  was 
an  African  negro.  At  my  request  he  called  a  set  of  palan- 
quin-bearers who  sat  a  little  way  off  waiting  for  some  one  to 
hire  them,  and  I  set  out  in  search  of  Dr.  Duff's  College. 

The  novelty  of  everything  that  met  my  eye  in  this  strange 
land  of  our  future  labors  was  so  striking  as  to  completely  ab- 
sorb my  attention.  This  was  especially  true  of  the  black, 
hearse-like  vehicle  to  which  I  was  being  introduced,  carried 
on  a  long  pole  which  rested  fore  and  aft  upon  the  shoulders 
of  four  half-naked,  dark-skinned,  slender-bodied  men,  with 
straight  black  hair  and  good  regular  features.  I  was  intensely 
interested  in  these  people.  Their  features — so  very  like  our 
own — told  us  in  a  moment  that  they  were  not  Ethiopians,  nor 
Mongolians,  nor  Malayans,  nor  American  red  men,  but  Cau- 
casians— near  kinsmen  of  our  own.  But  oh!  the  cheerless, 
dejected  visage!  How  much  it  expressed!  Their  poverty, 
their  hot  and  debilitating  climate,  their  oppression  for  ages 
past  under  the  yokes  of  foreign  powers,  and  their  dismal  relig- 
ion, which  leaves  them  without  God  and  without  hope — all 
these,  and  more,  were  written  in  their  faces;  and  the  first 
glimpse  awakened  emotions  of  sadness  and  pity.  Who  would 
not  be  touched  on  seeing  his  near  relatives,  poor  and  hungry,, 
running  to  him  for  work  which  belongs  to  the  horse,  mule  or 
donkey?     Pairing  off,  two  of  them  placed  their  shoulders — 

(39) 


40  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

one  his  left  shoulder  and  the  other  his  right — in  line  under 
the  hind  end  of  the  pole,  and  two  under  the  fore  end ;  then, 
standing  well  apart  to  give  play  room  for  their  legs,  they 
braced  themselves  shoulder  to  shoulder,  and  trudged  off  with 
an  energetic  good  will  and  business-like  earnestness  that  was 
astonishing,  keeping  step  all  the  while  to  a  grunt  which  they 
passed  around,  each  grunting  in  turn  and  in  his  own  tone,  and 
giving  something  like  soprano,  tenor,  alto,  and  bass. 

No  one  will  wonder  if,  under  the  circumstances,  my  ar- 
rangements for  my  first  ride  of  the  kind  were  not  all  perfect. 
The  way  soon  began  to  seem  long,  whilst  the  men  continued 
to  stride  away,  intent  on  earning  a  good  mileage,  and  obtain- 
ing a  liberal  bakhshish  from  this  ignorant  foreigner.  I  began 
to  doubt  whether  they  knew  just  where  I  wanted  to  go,  and 
to  wish  for  a  more  definite  understanding  between  me  and  my 
conveyance;  but  I  could  neither  ask  questions  nor  give  direc- 
tions. I  could  not  even  say  "  stop."  On  I  sped  through  the 
streets  of  that  great  strange  city,  like  a  man  behind  a  runaway 
team,  not  knowing  where  I  should  land  or  how  I  should  get 
back,  until  I  accidentally  saw  an  Englishman.  My  efforts  to 
get  a  word  with  him  without  stopping  or  even  checking  the 
pace  of  my  team,  must  surely  have  appeared  very  awkward,  if 
not  rude.  By  some  means,  I  know  not  just  how,  a  halt  was 
effected,  and  fresh  directions  were  given  to  my  men,  who  very 
soon  brought  me  to  the  Free  Church  Institution. 

Dr.  Duff  was  absent  from  India  at  the  time,  but  I  found  in 
his  place  another  man  equally  great,  good,  useful,  and  labo- 
rious, the  Rev.  Dr.  Ewart,  who  was  not  as  widely  known. 
Having  found  a  missionary,  the  rest  of  the  way  was  easy. 
We  soon  found  Mr.  Shearin  who  acted  as  agent  for  American 
missionaries,  obtained  some  money  on  our  letter  of  credit, 
and  took  temporary  lodgings  in  a  boarding-house.  We  found 
letters  awaiting  our  arrival  at  Calcutta  from  Rev.  Messrs. 
Campbell,  Caldwell,  and  Freeman,  in  which  they  gave  us  a 
friendly  welcome  as  co-laborers,  and  some  advice  regarding 
our  inland  journey. 


FROM    CALCUTTA   TO   SIAL'KOT,  4 1 

Four  principal  matters  were  attended  to  whilst  we  were 
detained  in  Calcutta.  As  washing  could  not  be  done  at  sea, 
a  small  cart-load  of  soiled  clothing  was  washed.  Then  we 
employed  a  teacher  and  took  our  first  lessons  in  the  language, 
spurred  on  to  this  by  necessity,  since  traveling  hundreds  of 
miles  entirely  among  natives  would  be  very  difficult  unless  we 
could  speak  at  least  the  names  of  a  few  necessary  things. 
Again,  we  endeavored  to  make  ourselves  acquainted  with  mis- 
sionaries and  their  methods  of  working.  Dr.  Ewart  and  his 
three  colleagues,  the  Revs.  Smith,  Gardiner,  and  Pourie, 
showed  us  through  the  great  Institution  of  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland.  The  question  naturally  arose  as  to  whether  we 
should  adopt  a  similar  mode  of  labor.  The  advice  of  Dr. 
Ewart,  briefly  stated,  was  to  leave  this  an  open  question  until 
we  should  reach  our  field,  because  the  method  pursued  in  his 
field  might  not  be  the  best  for  every  field.  Last  in  order  came 
the  arrangements  for  our  inland  journey  of  eleven  hundred 
miles  northwest  to  Saha'ranpur. 

Railroad  construction  had  been  commenced  in  India  in  the 
year  1853,  but  at  the  time  of  our  arrival  only  one  hundred 
miles  were  in  operation.  Boating  it  up  the  Ganges,  which 
would  consume  several  months,  was  considered  too  tedious 
when  we  could  not  preach  by  the  way;  and  so  late  in  the  sea- 
son, a  journey  of  this  kind  would  have  extended  too  far  into 
the  hot  weather.  We  concluded  therefore  to  travel  this  long 
journey  in  wagons  drawn  by  coolies.  A  cooly  is  simply  a 
day-laborer.  Fourteen  of  these  were  paid  four  annas  (about 
ten  or  twelve  cents)  each,  to  convey  us  and  our  baggage  ten 
miles,  when  they  were  dismissed,  and  a  new  set  employed  for 
another  ten-mile  stage.  The  road  by  which  we  traveled  is 
called  the  "  Grand  Trunk  Road,"  and  extends  northwest  from 
Calcutta  nearly  to  Pesha'war,  a  distance  of  about  1,600  miles. 
This  is  only  one  of  the  many  excellent  roads  constructed  by 
the  British  in  India.  The  material  used  in  their  construction 
is  a  certain  kind  of  limestone,  which,  being  broken  fine,  sprin- 
kled and  well  rammed,  cements  together  into  a  solid  mass,  so 


42  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

smooth  that  a  glass  of  water  might  ride  all  day  on  a  shelf  in 
the  wagon.  Mountain  ranges  to  the  right  and  the  left  were  in 
sight  much  of  the  way,  but  our  road  was  so  level  that  we  may 
say  we  had  no  hills  to  ascend  or  descend  in  all  the  i,ioo  miles. 
And  so  densely  populated  is  the  great  fertile  valley  of  the 
Ganges  up  which  our  course  lay,  that  we  made  no  previous 
arrangements  for  men  during  at  least  the  last  six  hundred 
miles  of  our  journey;  when  one  set  of  men  brought  us  to  the 
end  of  their  stage,  they  shouted  loud  enough  to  be  heard  in 
some  of  the  neighboring  villages,  and  fresh  men  were  promptly 
on  hand  to  take  us  forward  as  soon  as  the  old  set  were  paid 
off  Leaving  Calcutta  on  the  3d  of  March,  we  spent  a  few 
days  with  the  American  Presbyterian  missionaries  at  Al'la- 
habad'  and  Mainpu'ri,  and  with  the  Rev.  Go'p'inath  Nan'di  at 
Fa'tehpur,  and  arrived  on  the  23d  of  the  same  month  at  Saha'- 
ranpur. 

Saha'ranpur,  a  city  of  about  40,000  inhabitants,  is  the  seat 
of  the  oldest  mission  station  of  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
Church  of  America,  and  was  at  that  time  occupied  by  the 
Rev.  J.  R.  Campbell,  D.  D.,  and  the  Rev.  J.  Caldwell.  These 
missionary  brethren  received  us  with  marked  hospitality.  As 
Mr.  Caldwell  was  to  be  absent  from  Saha'ranpur  that  summer, 
his  house  and  furniture  were  very  kindly  placed  at  our  dis- 
posal, which  not  only  saved  house  rent,  but  gave  us  ample 
time  to  look  about  before  making  a  permanent  settlement. 
Making  this  our  temporary  home,  three  principal  things  occu- 
pied our  attention  during  the  four  months  of  our  sojourn  in 
Saha'ranpur. 

First  of  all,  the  principal  part  of  our  time  was  devoted  to 
the  study  of  the  Urdu  language. 

In  the  second  place,  agreeably  to  the  advice  of  our  Board 
of  Foreign  Missions,  we  consulted  freely  with  Dr.  Campbell 
and  other  missionaries  in  reference  to  the  work  before  us,  and 
sought  to  gain  as  much  practical  acquaintance  as  possible  with 
the  various  methods  and  branches  of  missionary  effort.  A 
fraction  of  time  was  devoted  to  teaching  one  of  the  English 


FROM   CALCUTTA   TO   SIAL'kOT.  43 

lessons  in  the  Mission  School.  Forty  miles  east  of  Saha'ran- 
pur  at  the  village  of  Hardwar',  where  the  river  Ganges  issues 
from  the  mountains  into  the  plains,  that  river  is  thought  by  the 
Hindus  to  be  peculiarly  sacred,  and  pilgrims  congregate  there 
once  a  year  to  the  number,  probably,  of  one  million  or  more. 
During  the  first  two  weeks  of  April  I  encamped  in  company 
with  seven  or  eight  missionaries  at  this  great  meld,  and  saw 
their  mode  of  publishing  the  Gospel  at  such  gatherings.  It  is 
in  place  here  to  mention  also  that  in  the  ensuing  autumn  I  at- 
tended the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Ludhia'na  Mission  of  the 
American  Presbyterian  Church,  held  that  year  at  Jalandar,  and 
learned  very  much  that  determined  the  character  of  our  mis- 
sionary affairs  as  far  as  finances  and  other  business  matters  are 
concerned.  Many  practical  subjects  were  there  discussed — 
such  as  the  propriety  of  carrying  on  English  and  vernacular 
education  for  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  boys  as  an  evangelistic 
effort — the  use  of  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  literature  as 
text-books — attempting  to  sell,  instead  of  continuing  to  give 
away  religious  books  to  the  natives — keeping  up  English 
preaching  at  mission  stations — having  more  than  two  mission- 
aries at  one  station — and  the  relative  importance  of  itinerant 
preaching  in  villages,  and  preaching  in  great  centers.  These 
discussions  were  listened  to  by  me  with  much  interest  and 
profit. 

The  third  thing  which  demanded  our  attention  was  one 
involving  great  responsibility — the  very  important  matter  of 
choosing  the  particular  field  of  our  future  missionary  opera- 
tions. Aligarh',  BareHi,  Ban'da,  and  Sial'kot  were  all  considered 
with  the  view  of  permanently  locating  our  head-quarters  ;  and 
we  were  led  to  make  choice  of  the  last-named  place  for  several 
reasons.  The  Province  of  the  Panjab^  in  which  Sial'kot  is 
located,  had  been  annexed  to  the  British  possessions  but  very 
recently  (in  1849),  and  was  only  just  beginning  to  be  occupied 
as  mission  ground;  the  danger,  therefore,  of  entering  into 
other  men's  labors,  or  of  entering  fields  which  others  were  pre- 
pared soon  to  occupy,  appeared  less  in  the  choice  of  Sial'kot 


44  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

than  any  other  place ;  and  there  was  ample  room  in  adjacent 
districts  for  the  enlargement  of  our  field.  The  climate  of 
Sial'kot,  which  was  not  only  a  civil  but  also  a  large  military 
station,  was  regarded  by  English  civil  and  military  officers  as 
a  good  one  for  the  plains  of  India.  Although  its  summers,  as 
elsewhere  in  the  plains,  were  intensely  hot,  yet  its  cold  season 
was  longer  and  more  bracing  than  that  of  the  other  localities 
named,  because  of  its  northerly  position  and  its  nearness  to 
the  Himalaya  range.  Our  experience,  too,  of  the  first  hot  sea- 
son, was  powerfully  inclining  us  northward. 

Correspondence  was  opened  with  Captain  John  Mill,  a 
worthy  member  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland,  and  an 
artillery  officer,  residing  at  Sial'kot.  "This  field,"  said  he,  "is 
looked  upon  by  different  religious  societies  as  an  inviting  one; 
but  no  steps  were  ever  ta:ken  to  occupy  it  until  three  weeks 
ago,  when  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Fitzpatrick,  a  missionary  of  the 
Church  of  England,  came  here  from  Amritsar,  opened  a  small 
school  for  heathen  boys  in  the  native  city,  employed  a 
[heathen]  teacher,  engaged  a  committee  of  three  English 
officers  to  collect  the  necessary  funds  from  month  to  month 
and  look  after  the  school,  and  then  returned  to  Amritsar.  " 

I  felt  averse,  intensely  averse,  to  entering  fields  preoccupied 
by  other  missionary  societies;  but  I  did  not  think  the  spiritual 
wants  of  those  millions  were  provided  for,  or  that  the  field  was 
properly  occupied  as  a  mission  field,  by  the  opening  of  such  a 
school  within  its  bounds  as  has  just  been  mentioned,  and  I 
formed  my  plans  accordingly. 

On  the  30th  of  July,  dividing  the  small  unexpended  re- 
mainder of  money  equally  between  myself  and  the  family,  I 
left  them  in  Saha'ranpur  and  set  out  for  Sial'kot,  300  miles 
north-west,  paying  brief  visits  by  the  way  to  the  Rev.  M.  M. 
Carleton  at  Amba'la,  the  Rev.  J.  Newton  at  Ludhia'na,  the 
Rev.  Golaknath  at  Jalandar,  and  the  Rev.  J.  H.  Morrison  at 
Labor — all  missionaries  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  O.  S. 
Labor  and  Amritsar  were  then  the  nearest  points  to  Sial'kot 
occupied  by  any  missionary  society,  the  distances  being  about 
seventy  and  sixty  miles  respectively. 


FROM    CALCUTTA   TO    SIAL'KOT.  45 

When  passing  through  Amritsar  I  did  not  forget  to  call  on 
the  Rev.  T.  H.  Fitzpatrick,  who  desired  to  know  to  "  what 
field  of  labor  "  my  missionary  society  in  America  had  sent  me. 

I  remembered  distinctly  that  when  I  was  ordained  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Cooper,  who  led  in  the  ordination  prayer,  had  expressly 
designated  the  field  to  which  I  was  appointed  as  ^^  North 
India'' — a  field  which  I  now  saw  to  be  very  much  larger  than 
it  had  appeared  at  that  distance,  since  it  contained  more  souls 
than  all  of  North  America.  As  the  early  colonists  who  settled 
in  America  came  over  with  their  charters  entitling  them  to  a 
certain  number  of  miles  up  and  down  the  Atlantic  coast,  and 
from  that  westward  as  far  as  the  Pacific  Ocean,  so  my  commis- 
sion embraced  more  territory  than  I  was  likely  to  occupy. 
But  still  I  thought  it  best  to  tell  the  whole  truth ;  and  I 
answered  Mr.  Fitzpatrick's  inquiry  by  saying  that  I  was  sent 
to  "  North  India:' 

Mr.  F.  was  surprised,  and  remarked,  "You  have,  then,  grate 
an  apostolic  commission.  Where  do  you  propose  to  locate  your 
head-quarters  ?  " 

I  replied  that  I  was  on  my  way  to  Sial'kot,  to  see  what  I 
should  think  of  it. 

"  Sial'kot !  I  have  occupied  that  field  already,"  objected 
Mr.  F. 

"  Have  you,  indeed  ?  "  I  inquired :  "  What  is  the  name  of 
your  missionary  there?" 

Mr.  F.  made  no  answer  to  this  question.  The  truth  was 
that  he  had  no  Christian  agent,  either  native  or  foreign,  to  send 
to  Sial'kot,  and  was  not  likely  to  have  one  to  spare  for  many 
years  without  neglecting  a  large  field  near  at  hand.  After 
pausing  a  little,  he  continued  in  substance  thus :  "  In  one  sense 
we  have  preoccupied  Sial'kot,  but  in  another  way  of  viewing 
the  subject  you  are  ahead  of  us;  if  you  do  not  locate  there  we 
intend  to  do  so,  but  if  you  do  we  will  withdraw." 

Not  believing  that  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  could  reasonably  expect 
me  to  seriously  regard  his  objection,  I  moved  forward  with- 
out hesitation. 


46  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

Labor  is  thirty  miles  west  of  Amritsar.  These  are  the  two 
largest  cities  in  the  Panjab',  each  having  a  population  of  more 
than  one  hundred  thousand.  Lahor  is  the  capital  of  the 
Panjab',  and  an  important  Presbyterian  mission  station,  whilst 
Amritsar  is  the  principal  station  of  the  Church  of  England 
Mission  in  this  province.  Much  of  the  country  along  the 
Grand  Trunk  Road  between  these  two  cities  appeared  unin- 
viting, as  I  passed  through  it,  exhibiting  tracts  of  considerable 
extent  which  had  few  villages,  no  trees,  no  good  grass,  and 
little  cultivation.  Altogether  the  prospect  appeared  very 
desolate. 

Leaving  Lahor  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  of  August,  I  set 
my  face  northward  towards  Sial'kot,  and  traveled  for  several 
hours  through  a  country  even  more  desolate  than  what  I  had 
seen  east  of  Lahor.  The  day  was  intensely  hot.  At  mid-day 
the  men  who  carried  my  dooly — a  cheap  and  light  kind  of 
palanquin — halted  by  a  well  in  the  shade  of  a  large  tree,  and, 
pointing  towards  the  sun,  said  :  " Dhup  bar'i  tez"  (sunshine  big 
sharp).  In  this  way  there  was  added  to  my  stock  of  language 
one  new  form  of  expression,  just  as  many  more  have  been 
added  since — not  that  I  needed  to  learn  the  fact  that  the  sun 
was  very  hot,  for  this  was  well  known  and  appreciated  already, 
my  watch,  umbrella  handle,  drinking  cup,  and  other  articles 
having  become  very  warm — almost  hot — to  the  touch  even  in 
the  shade.  Although  no  immediate  evil  consequences  were 
experienced,  I  was  really  exposing  myself  in  a  manner  which  I 
would  now  regard  as  very  unwise  in  any  foreigner. 

Having  three  hours  to  rest  in  the  hospitable  shade  of  this 
noble  tree,  with  these  dooly  bearers  for  company,  we  will 
improve  the  time  by  taking  a  few  notes. 

Hindus  are  usually  divided  into  four  general  castes — 
Brah'nii7is,  Ksha'triyds,  Vais'yds,  and  Sii'drds.  Each  one  of 
these  is  again  very  much  sub-divided,  and  this  tribe  or  sub- 
division of  the  Sudras  who  carry  doolies  are  called  kahdrs'. 
Viewed  industrially,  they  are  not  mere  coolies — unskilled 
laborers — who  can  do  little  else  than  dig  and  carry  loads  on 


FROM   CALCUTTA  TO  SIAL'KOT.  4/ 

their  heads ;  but  they  are  in  a  certain  sense  skilled  workmen, 
for  they  can  stand  in  pairs  and  carry  loads  on  their  shoulders — • 
they  can  keep  step  and  walk  rapidly  in  this  difficult  position, 
keeping  up  their  speed  so  as  to  accomplish  a  stage  of  ten 
miles  in  three  hours  without  giving  out.  Being  thus  skilled 
in  the  business  of  carrying  travelers,  they  receive  ten  or  twelve 
cents  per  day,  whilst  a  mere  cooly  would  receive  only  nine 
cents  for  even  a  greater  exertion  of  his  muscles. 

Viewed  socially,  there  are  many  grades  downward  as  well 
as  upward  from  these  kalidrs' ;  therefore  some  things  which  I 
am  about  to  say  of  them  must  not  be  understood  of  all  poor 
natives  indiscriminately. 

Four  kahdrs'  will  carry  almost  any  native  who  is  not  very 
high  in  rank,  and  even  two  will  carry  a  native  who  is  very 
poor  in  purse  and  flesh ;  but  it  would  be  very  difficult  to  pre- 
vail on  less  than  six,  my  present  number,  to  carry  a  white 
man,  four  of  them  working  at  a  time,  with  a  reserve  of  two 
more  to  take  their  turn  at  short  intervals,  and  to  take  charge 
of  the  torch  when  journeying  by  night. 

It  is  said  of  Peter,  that  "  he  girt  his  coat  about  him ;  for  he 
was  naked."  I  observe  that  some  of  these  kahdrs'  are  going 
about  naked.  By  this  I  do  not  mean  that  they  are  stark 
naked;  the  most  essential  garment — so  very  scant  often  that 
it  could  be  made  of  a  small  pocket  handkerchief — is  worn  at 
all  times.  Another  garment  called  a  dho't'i,  and  consisting  of 
four  yards  of  plain  web  gracefully  adjusted  about  the  waist, 
forms  a  covering  down  to  the  knees  or  lower,  and  is  worn 
much  of  the  time.  About  the  same  amount  of  plain  web  is 
wound  around  the  head  as  a  turban,  and  is  rarely  dispensed 
with  in  the  daytime.  Four  or  five  yards  more  are  torn  in  two 
and  sewed  into  a  square,  which  is  thrown  around  the  shoul- 
ders something  like  a  gentleman's  shawl.  In  cold  weather 
most  of  them  would  have  a  blanket  of  coarse,  black,  harsh 
country  wool,  affording  but  little  warmth,  A  pair  of  thick- 
soled  slippers,  so  loose  as  to  admit  of  stepping  into  them  and 
out  at  pleasure,  with  sharp-pointed  toes  curling  up  in  front 


48  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

like  skates,  are  worn  at  times  to  protect  the  feet  from  briars, 
in  which  the  country  abounds;  but  very  often  these  dirty 
things — for  they  are  never  cleaned — are  thrown  upon  the  top 
of  your  dooly,  or  tied  up  in  the  bundle  of  sundries  which  is 
carried  by  one  of  the  reserve  kahdrs'  for  the  whole  company. 
With  all  of  these  articles,  the  average  kahdr'  would  be  pretty 
well  equipped  for  night  as  well  as  day,  and  for  all  seasons. 
But  at  this  hot  and  depressing  season  (August),  our  men  have 
brought  as  little  clothing  as  possible. 

Their  clothing  is  chiefly  made  of  coarse  white  cotton  cloth. 
This  is  never  well  washed,  much  less  bleached,  and  is  usually 
much  soiled  with  perspiration,  dust,  and  other  foreign  matter. 
They  wash  out  the  most  of  this  occasionally  in  a  stream  or 
pond,  at  least  those  of  them  who  are  at  all  disposed  to  be 
cleanly;  and  when  they  do  so,  their  clothing,  though  not  what 
we  call  white,  looks  clean,  and  well  becomes  their  work  and 
their  dark  complexion. 

It  must  not  be  inferred  that  each  man  even  owns  as  full  a 
wardrobe  as  has  been  described,  nor  that  each  garment  de- 
scribed is  always  worn  just  in  the  same  way.  Most  of  their 
garments  consist  of  the  plain  straight  cloth,  simply  torn  from 
the  web  without  any  cutting,  fitting,  sewing,  or  trimming,  and 
without  buttons  or  strings.  The  various  and  ingenious  native 
methods  of  adjusting  a  piece  of  straight  cloth  to  the  body, 
constitute  the  chief  making-up.  This  is  economical.  Their 
clothes  are  not  punched  into  holes,  as  close-fitting  garments 
are,  at  all  projecting  points  of  the  body;  but  like  a  shawl  or 
blanket,  they  last  indefinitely;  they  maybe  torn,  or  lost,  or 
worn  thin,  or  they  may  rot,  but  it  cannot  often  be  said  that 
they  wear  out.  Then,  like  the  poor  girl  with  her  old  ribbons 
and  trimmings,  they  can  readjust,  giving  a  little  variety  and 
freshness  to  their  toilet  as  often  as  the  fancy  takes  them.  But 
still  more  important  to  the  poor  man  is  the  fact  that  one  and 
the  same  piece  of  cloth  can  be  made  to  serve  a  number  of 
different  purposes  at  different  times,  varying  according  to  the 
requirements  of  the  hour.     As  I  sat  in  the  shade  observing 


FROM    CALCUTTA   TO    SIAL'KOT.  49 

their  movements,  I  noticed  that  one  of  my  kahdrs'  had  his 
four  yards  of  doth  drawn  tightly  around  his  waist,  as  is  cus- 
tomary when  preparing  for  walking  or  running,  and  this 
girdle  was  observed  to  have  a  bunchy  appearance  on  the 
small  of  his  back.  Presently  he  unwound  his  girdle  and 
opened  out  the  bunch,  which  proved  to  be  a  supply  of  meal, 
which  he  spread  upon  this  garment,  and  wetting  it  he  kneaded 
it  into  dough.  Whilst  this  exhibition  was  in  progress, 
another  of  the  company  climbed  the  tree  in  search  of  dry 
leaves  and  twigs,  and  others  went  about  gathering  handfuls 
of  straw,  stubble,  dry  weeds,  or  anything  that  would  burn. 
A  bit  of  broken  pottery  was  picked  up  near  the'  well  and 
turned  hollow  side  downwards  over  three  clods;  a  fire  was 
kindled  underneath,  and  the  dough,  after  being  manipulated 
into  the  form  of  pancakes,  was  converted  into  bread.  Hunger 
being  satisfied  with  a  few  "loaves"  of  this  "unleavened 
bread,"  one  of  the  men  took  from  their  common  bundle  a  little 
round-bottomed  brass  pot,  without  bail  or  handle,  and  with 
just  enough  neck  and  lip  to  hang  securely  in  the  loop  end  of 
a  long  cord.  This  pot  has  a  capacity  of  two  or  three  quarts, 
and  is  called  a  lo't'd.  If  the  men  had  brought  along  for  the 
journey  a  little  pulse,  salt  and  red  pepper — all  cheap  products 
of  the  country — or  if  they  could  have  bought  a  few  stringy 
turnips  from  a  country  gardener,  or  if  it  had  been  the  season 
for  gathering  mustard  leaves  or  mallows — you  would  have  seen 
them  loose  the  lo'td  from  its  cord  and  cook  in  it  a  mess 
of  some  one  of  a  variety  of  vegetable  sauces;  then  ladling 
it  out  with  their  large  iron  or  wooden  cooking-spoon,  and 
using  one  "loaf"  as  a  plate,  they  would  have  broken  their 
bread  and  moistened  each  morsel  with  the  sauce  to  give  it  a 
relish.  But  on  this  occasion  the  extras  are  wanting;  the  lo'td 
is  thrown  thirty  or  forty  feet  down  the  deep  well,  from  which 
water  is  drawn  up  to  form  their  only  dessert.  Now  these  long 
hot  days  favor  the  after-dinner  nap,  especially  as  people  do 
much  of  their  work  in  the  cool  of  the  night;  so  once  more  the 
same  garment  which  has  served  its  owner  as  a  girdle,  a  meal 
4 


50  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

bag,  and  a  "  dough-trough,"  and  which  could  easily  be  con- 
verted any  minute  into  a  dho'ii,  or  a  turban,  now  serves  as 
bedding.  Stretching  himself  on  the  ground  for  a  sleep,  the  man 
covers  himself  from  head  to  foot,  and  looks  very  much  like  a 
corpse  laid  out  for  burial.  Suppose  that  the  poor  fellow  were 
deprived  of  his  "  raiment,"  how  could  he  get  through  a  single 
one  of  the  damp,  chilly  nights,  a  little  later  in  the  season? 
"  If  thou  at  all  take  thy  neighbor's  raiment  to  pledge,  thou 
shalt  deliver  it  unto  him  by  that  the  sun  goeth  down ;  for  that 
is  his  covering  only,  it  is  his  raiment  for  his  skin:  wherein 
shall  he  sleep?  And  it  shall  come  to  pass  when  he  crieth 
unto  me,  that  I  will  hear;  for  I  am  gracious."  How  tenderly 
God  cares  for  such !  And  if  we  are  godly  (God-like),  will  we 
not  go  and  do  likewise? 

Why  these  people  cover  up  not  only  the  whole  body,  but 
the  face,  until  not  a  breathing-hole  is  left,  I  know  not;  nor  do 
they  know,  so  far  as  I  have  inquired,  any  more  than  that  it  is 
a  prevailing  custom.  Sleeping  as  many  of  them  habitually 
do,  on  or  near  the  ground,  with  the  atmosphere  full  of  poison- 
ous, fever-producing  malaria,  especially  in  August  and  Sep- 
tember, they  no  doubt  inhale  less  disease  by  covering  up  the 
face;  but  very  few  natives  know  anything  about  malaria.  It 
is  more  probable  that  the  custom  arose  from  the  fact  that  the 
air  is  often  full  of  winged  insects,  and  the  earth  alive  with 
creeping  things,  which  would  annoy  any  exposed  part  of  the 
body.  Still,  this  theory  is  not  without  a  flaw;  for  why  should 
the  poorer  classes,  who  sleep  out  in  this  way,  take  such  pains 
to  escape  from  creeping  things  of  the  earth,  whilst  those  of  the 
body  are  allowed  freely  to  occupy  every  habitable  region  ? 

Leaving  the  tree  and  well  I  proceeded  northward  toward 
Sial'kot,  with  the  grand  Himalayas  rising  in  full  view  beyond. 
Having  left  the  Grand  Trunk  Road  at  Gujanwa'la  forty  miles 
north  of  Labor',  I  found  the  remaining  thirty  miles  very  good 
although  not  macadamized.  It  was  an  English  made  road, 
broad,  straight,  lined  with  shade  trees  on  each  side,  and  in  a 
good  state  of  repair.     The  country  here  began  to  present  a 


FROM    CALCUTTA    TO    SIAUKOT.  5 1 

decidedly  improved  appearance.  The  land  on  each  side  of  the 
road  nearly  all  well  cultivated — villages  as  thick  almost  as 
farm  houses  in  a  well  settled  country — Persian  wheels  creaking 
in  every  direction  as  they  raised  water  to  irrigate  the  crops — 
flocks  and  herds  feeding  on  pastures  which  at  that  season  were 
fresh  and  green,  and  the  numbers  of  people  met  in  the  road 
and  seen  plying  their  avocations  in  the  fields,  at  the  wells 
and  in  the  villages — all  gave  evidence  that  I  was  approaching 
the  centre  of  a  densely  populated  country,  which  possessed  at 
least  some  of  the  desirable  qualities  of  a  mission  field.  Before 
dark  I  crossed  the  Aik,  a  troublesome  stream  with  which  all 
of  our  missionaries  would  be  glad  to  have  less  acquaintance. 
Haifa  tnile  farther  on  I  passed  what  is  now  the  south  mission 
premises,  without  discovering  that  it  differed  in  the  least  from 
any  other  portion  of  the  broad,  cultivated  plain  that  stretched 
indefinitely  on  every  side.  Then  passing  on  through  one  of 
the  principal  bazar's  (business  streets)  of  the  city  of  Sial'kot, 
and  two  miles  farther  north  into  the  English  Military  Canton- 
ment, I  found  my  excellent  friend  Captain  John  Mill  with 
whom  I  had- previously  corresponded,  and  whose  whole-souled 
Christian  hospitality,  earnest  piety,  and  lively  interest  in  mis- 
sions soon  made  me  feel  quite  at  home. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

BEGINNING    UNDER    PECUNIARY   EMBARRASSMENT. 

SEARCHING  FOR  A  SITE  FOR  MISSION  PREMISES — $17  IN  HAND — WHY 
don't  you  buy  MATERIALS  AND  BUILD? — MONEY  RAISED  BY  SUB- 
SCRIPTION— MR.  GORDON  THE  IMPOSTOR — BORROWING  MONEY — SET- 
TLED  AT   LAST. 

I  WAS  in  no  way  disappointed  in  regard  to  SiaKkot;  the 
favorable  impressions  received  by  report  before  visiting  it 
were  confirmed,  and  it  was  chosen  as  our  headquarters.  The 
wisdom  of  this  choice  has  never  been  called  in  question  so  far 
as  I  am  aware. 

This  important  matter  having  been  settled,  the  next  great 
matter  requiring  immediate  attention  was  the  securing  of  a 
desirable  site  for  mission  premises.  Captain  Mill  introduced 
me  to  Major  Dawes,  Captain  Fitzgerald,  Captain  Heath,  and 
other  friends  of  the  mission  cause,  and  placed  a  horse  at  my 
disposal,  besides  giving  me  valuable  assistance  in  various  other 
ways.  It  was  no  small  matter  that  for  the  space  of  two  weeks 
he  spent  all  his  leisure  time  with  me  in  reconnoitering  the 
ground  on  every  side  of  the  City  of  Sial'kot  in  order  that  we 
might  wisely  decide  the  important  question  of  location.  The 
three  great  things  which  we  sought  to  combine  in  our  choice 
of  a  site  were  healthfulness,  convenience  to  the  work,  and 
availability.  The  native  city,  containing  a  population  of  20,- 
000,  must  be  our  central  point.  Connected  with  the  military 
cantomnent  two  miles  north  of  the  city  there  were  20,000  more 
of  a  native  population ;  but  these  were  thought  to  be  too 
transitory  for  a  permanent  centre.  Some  place  between  the 
two  would  have  been  most  convenient ;  but  all  desirable 
ground  north  of  the  city  was  appropriated  by  the  Government 
for  military  purposes,  and  if  we  built  there  our  property  would 

(52) 


BEGINNING    UNDER    PECUNIARY    EMBARRASSMENT.  53 

be  subject  to  very  objectionable  conditions,  since  it  could  be 
taken  from  us  for  Government  use  whenever  required.  As  to 
locating  within  the  City,  all  missionaries  and  other  advisers 
objected  seriously  and  unanimously  on  the  ground  of  its  being 
hotter  and  more  unhealthy  than  an  out-side  location.  So  also, 
the  atmosphere  for  several  furlongs  out  from  the  city  limit  was 
unhealthy,  because  of  the  dense,  filthy  smell  occasioned  by  the 
habits  of  the  people — habits  subsequently  corrected  to  some 
extent  in  consequence  of  the  Government  erecting  places  for 
retirement  and  compelling  the  people  to  use  these  instead  of 
the  open  fields.  There  was  a  very  healthy,  elevated  site  and 
dwelling  house  two  miles  northwest  from  the  city.  This  was 
afterwards  purchased  by  us,  as  will  appear,  and  from  us  again 
by  the  Church  of  Scotland  Mission ;  but  it  had  not  at  that 
time  been  offered  for  sale,  and  two  miles  would  have  been 
thought  too  far  from  the  native  city. 

The  site  finally  chosen,  after  long  and  diligent  search,  was 
three  fourths  of  a  mile  southwest  of  the  City  on  the  left  of  the 
road  leading  towards  Gujranwa'la.  This  was  clean,  open,  well 
ventilated  ground,  and  struck  both  of  us  as  the  most  eligible 
property  that  could  be  obtained.  The  only  objection  was  that 
the  Aik,  a  stream  one-fourth  of  a  mile  distant,  overflowed  its 
banks  two  or  three  times  every  year,  and  when  it  did  so  this 
ground  was  covered  with  water;  but  the  overflow  never 
exceeded  a  few  inches  in  depth,  and  always  subsided  again 
after  a  few  hours,  leaving  the  place  dry;  the  objection,  there- 
fore, was  not  thought  to  be  serious.  A  few  years  later,  how- 
ever, the  Government  ordered  embankments  to  be  thrown  up 
near  the  city  to  prevent  the  overflow  of  the  Aik  from  escap- 
ing by  its  usual  channel.  By  this  means  the  depth  of  water 
on  our  mission  premises  was  greatly  increased,  and  the 
annual  overflowings  from  the  Aik  became  serious  and  trouble- 
some. A  clay  embankment  has  been  raised  all  around  the 
mission  premises ;  but  the  water  sometimes  breaks  through. 
A  slight  deposit  is  left  after  every  flood,  by  which  the  ground 
outside  is  being  gradually  raised  all  around   us.     It  is  now  a 


54  ONR    INDIA    MISSION. 

question  whether  we  may  not  eventually  be  compelled  to  leave 
the  place;  and  the  wisdom  of  selecting  it  at  all  has  been  ques- 
tioned. I  can  only  say  that  after  diligent  search,  and  much 
thought,  consultation  and  prayer  in  regard  to  this  important 
step,  the  site  which  was  chosen  appeared  to  be  the  best  one 
available  at  that  time. 

Before  leaving  my  family  at  Saha'ranpur  to  set  out  for 
Sial'kot,  July  30th,  our  stock  of  funds,  as  already  hinted,  was 
running  low,  and  we  were  looking  for  a  remittence  from  our 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  When  we  sailed  from  New  York, 
September  28th,  1854,  a  letter  of  credit  for  ;^200  had  been 
put  into  our  hands  to  begin  with  on  landing  at  Calcutta.  Be- 
fore the  end  of  March  one  half  of  this  was  spent  in  travelling 
up  to  Saha'ranpur,  and  the  other  half  reduced  to  about  Rs.  200 
(equivalent  then  to  ^100,)  in  meeting  the  ordinary  living 
expenses  of  the  next  four  months.  A  tent  had  been  bought 
to  be  occupied  as  our  temporary  abode  and  to  be  used  after- 
wards in  itinerant  preaching ;  this  was  to  cost,  by  the  time  it 
reached  Sial'kot,  about  ^250.  Without  attempting  to  pay  for 
it  at  once,  I  left  the  family  in  Saha'ranpur  with  money  enough 
to  live  on  for  two  weeks,  and  started  out  on  a  journey  of  300 
miles  with  $$0;  then,  traveling  in  the  most  economical  man- 
ner, I  reached  Sial'kot  on  the  8th  of  August  with  ;^I7  in  hand 
with  which  to  found  our  Mission.  If  we  had  been  compelled 
to  rent  a  house  or  buy  furniture  in  Saha'ranpur,  or  to  go  to  a 
hotel  at  Sial'kot,  our  ready  capital  would  surely  have  been 
much  smaller.  My  new  acquaintances  in  Sial'kot  were  familiar 
with  large  sums  of  money,  the  salary  of  my  host  being  about 
$500  per  month ;  and  you  may  be  sure  I  was  very  particular 
to  let  none  of  them  see  the  inside  of  my  pocket.  I  was  from 
prosperous  America,  which  is  famed  for  its  enterprising  spirit, 
and  famed  also — as  some  of  our  English  cousins  say — for 
boasting.  I  was  out  on  important  business — the  only  mission- 
ary of  my  denomination  in  the  Eastern  Hemisphere;  and  if 
my  real  situation  should  come  to  be  known,  oh,  how  I  would 
blush !     I  lived  in  constant  dread  lest  some  emergency  should 


BEGINNING    UNDER    PECUNIARY    EMBARRASSMENT.  55 

"  let  the  cat  out  of  the  bag."  When  buying  the  lot  for  mission 
premises  I  was  extremely  anxious  lest  some  ready  money 
might  be  called  for.  The  size  of  a  lot  which  Captain  Mill 
suggested  was  four  times  too  small,  as  I  very  well  knew,  but 
under  the  circumstances  I  could  not  say  anything.* 

The  very  interest  which  these  Christian  gentlemen  spon- 
taneously manifested  in  my  work  was  extremely  embarrassing. 
Now,  said  they,  is  the  most  favorable  season  of  the  year  for 
pushing  forward  your  building  operations  ;  more  work  can  be 
had  for  your  money  than  at  any  other  time ;  make  your  con- 
tracts with  natives  to  supply  brick  and  lime ;  get  your  logs  on 
the  ground,  and  have  sawyers  at  work.  So  I  busied  myself 
drawing  plans  of  mission  buildings  on  paper,  and  talking  to 
brick  and  lime  contractors. 

These  contractors  beset  me  from  day  to  day ;  but  there 
was  a  mysterous  difficulty  somewhere  that  all  the  while  pre- 
vented any  business  from  coming  to  a  head.  Everybody,  said 
I  to  myself,  must  take  me  to  be  a  very  slow  "  go-ahead- 
American."  Capt.  Heath  had  thousands  of  logs  at  his  dis- 
posal on  the  banks  of  the  river  Chinab,  and  could  send  me  as 
many  as  I  needed  without  delay  as  soon  as  I  would  apply  for 
them ;  but  how  was  I  even  to  settle  with  the  native  cartmen, 
who  must  be  paid  cash  immediately?  Thus  I  waded  on  and 
looked  for  a  remittance,  but  none  came. 

By  some  means  Capt.  Mill  came  to  know  that  my  funds  were 
not  very  abundant,  and  a  subscription  paper  was  circulated  for 
money  in  aid  of  our  Mission. 

Meanwhile  I  was  beginning  to  feel  that  it  must  appear 
strange  to  my  newly  made  acquaintances  for  me  to  be  here, 
the  only  representative  of  my  denomination,  entrusted  with 
important  business,  and  yet  to  have  neither  money  nor  letters 
reaching  me — no  certificate  of  ordination,  and  no  official  notifi- 
cation of  my  appointment  (for  these  formalities  had  been 
neglected) — nothing  whatever  to  show  but  my  face  and  our 
church  papers.     Then,  the  weekly  paper — the  only  thing  which 

*  In  after  years  it  was  enlarged  fourfold. 


56  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

arrived  with  any  regularity — maintained  a  silence  in  regard  to 
us  and  our  work  which  under  the  circumstances  was  very 
tantalizing.  And  when,  to  my  relief,  I  found  and  read  a  casual 
remark  in  the  paper  one  day,  my  host,  picking  up  the  paper 
afterwards  and  searching  in  vain  for  the  passage  I  had  read, 
"thought  that  was  very  strange!"  as  he  jocosely  expressed 
himself  to  me  further  on.  All  these  things,  thought  I,  must 
suggest  to  their  minds  that  perhaps  after  all  I  am  nothing  but 
an  impostor.  In  fact,  a  gentleman  in  Ferozepore,  to  whom 
our  subscription  paper  had  been  sent,  wrote  back  to  Capt. 
Mill  to  enquire  particularly  about  me  before  he  would  give  any 
money.  For,  said  he,  there  is  a  man  by  the  name  of  Gordon 
going  about  the  Panjab'  soliciting  funds  and  pretending  to  be 
a  missionary,  but  he  is  an  impostor ;  he  is  of  such  and  such  a 
size,  complexion,  and  so  on.  Now  the  particulars  given  of 
that  impostor  were  ominous ;  for  they  suited  pretty  well  for  a 
description  of  myself  Taking  all  things  into  consideration, 
the  circumstances  looked  sufficiently  suspicious,  as  I  thought, 
to  destroy  the  confidence  of  strangers.  Had  the  case  appeared 
much  worse,  I  fear  I  should  have  suspected  myself  and  felt 
compelled  to  "  own  up." 

Capt.  Mill  and  Major  Dawes,  whilst  they  enjoyed  the  joke — 
and  who  could  blame  them? — assured  me  that  they  knew  that 
impostor,  and  knew  him  to  be  one  man  and  me  to  be 
another. 

The  money  raised  by  subscription  amounted  to  about  Rs. 
500=^250.  With  this  amount  I  moved  on  softly  a  while 
longer  by  paying  out  money  only  in  small  sums  where  it  was 
unavoidable,  and  indulged  the  hope  that  no  one  need  ever 
know  how  absolutely  bare  I  had  been. 

On  the  27th  of  September  I  decided  to  take  another  step 
forward.  Spending  one  Rupee  in  getting  a  rude  bedstead 
made,  and  a  few  more  Rupees  in  erecting  a  shanty  of  bam- 
boos and  straw  on  the  mission  grounds — for  the  tent  had  not 
yet  arrived — I  determined  to  leave  my  comfortable  quarters. 
Capt.  Mill  earnestly  remonstrated,  assuring  me  that  the  heat 


BEGINNING    UNDER    PECUNIARY    EMBARRASSMENT.  57 

was  still  too  great  to  warrant  such  exposure.  But  my  build- 
ing operations,  the  main  business  in  hand  just  then,  required 
my  presence  on  the  spot,  and  I  moved  out  after  enjoying  the 
Christian  hospitality  of  Capt.  and  Mrs.  Mill  for  seven  weeks. 
Capt.  Mill,  seeing  that  I  was  bent  on  going,  got  his  blacksmith 
to  make  for  me  a  strong  iron  chain  with  which  to  secure  my 
two  small  traveling  boxes  to  my  bed  at  night.  I  was  going 
out  three  miles  from  civilization,  and  the  shanty  was  insuffi- 
cient to  bar  out  intruders  ;  for  often  were  starving  dogs  heard 
snuffing  about  in  my  hut  by  night  in  search  of  something  to 
eat.  I  had  a  watchman,  but  he  could  be  trusted  only  as  far  as 
self-interest  prompted  him,  and  I  knew  as  yet  but  very  little 
about  these  people. 

The  28th  of  September  has  now  dawned — one  year  ago 
to-day  our  hearts  were  full  and  our  eyes  bedimmed  with  tears 
as  we  stood  on  the  deck  watching  for  and  responding  to  the 
last  flutterings  of  white  along  the  living  line  on  the  receding 
shore  of  our  dear  native  land.  To-day  I  have  again  cut  loose 
and  pushed  out  upon  the  black  waters  of  Heathendom.  A 
people  degraded  and  filthy,  poor  and  ignorant,  lazy,  dishonest 
and  deceitful,  and  ingenious  chiefly  in  the  one  art  of  securing 
their  penny  a  day  without  fairly  earning  it,  are  swarming 
around  me.  Six  hundred  and  forty  thousand  of  these  in  the 
District  of  Sial'kot  without  a  native  Christian !  My  life's  work 
is  now  before  me.  After  twelve  months  of  journeying  the  end 
is  reached.  After  many  years  of  tossing,  I  light  down  at  last 
and  feel  very  distinctly  a  new  experience  which  I  never  enjoyed 
previous  to  this  day,  a  comfortable  sense  of  relief  and  rest  in 
the  thought  that  I  am  now  definitely  settled  for  life.  All  this, 
a  short  time  ago,  was  as  foreign  to  my  thoughts  as  heat  to  the 
North  Pole.  Surely  the  Lord  has  led  me  in  a  way  I  knew 
not.  Thus  I  soliloquized  when  fairly  settled  in  the  mission 
hut. 

"  I  will  instruct  and  teach  thee,  and  lest  thou  turn  aside, 
I'll  in  the  way  direct  thee,  My  eye  shall  be  thy  guide." 

A  few  days  after  I  settled  on  the  mission  premises  word 


58  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

came  from  my  family,  who  were  yet  in  Saha'ranpur,  that  the 
house  which  they  were  still  occupying  free  of  rent  was 
required  by  its  owner,  and  must  be  vacated  at  once — that  they 
could  not  leave  for  want  of  money — that  they  were  not  only 
out  of  money,  but  in  debt  to  several  persons  for  the  necessaries 
of  life,  and  that  they  could  not  think  of  borrowing  from  the 
missionaries,  to  whom  we  were  already  under  heavy  obliga- 
tions; and  they  asked  what  they  should  do. 

It  is  not  so  difficult  for  a  man  to  bear  what  merely  incon- 
veniences himself;  but  when  it  begins  to  fall  upon  those  loved 
and  dependent  ones  for  whom  he  is  bound  to  provide,  the  case 
is  materially  changed.  We  had  fairly  entered  upon  our  sec- 
ond year,  counting  from  the  date  of  embarkation ;  and  with  the 
exception  of  two  letters  from  members  of  our  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  no  word  of  counsel,  good  cheer  or  friendly 
inquiry  had  reached  us  from  those  by  whom  we  had  been 
sent  forth.  The  fortnightly  mail  continued  to  disappoint  our 
expectation  of  a  remittance,  just  as  it  had  been  doing  for  the 
past  six  or  seven  months.  Mail  after  mail  came  without  even 
telling  us  when  money  might  be  expected.  Mortified  and  sad,  I 
felt  compelled  to  go  to  Capt.  Mill  and  tell  him  the  whole  story 
of  the  past  three  months  and  the  present  situation  at  Saha'ran- 
pur.  His  kind  heart  was  touched.  "  Only  name  the  amount," 
said  he,  "  and  I  will  lend  as  much  as  you  require  until  you  are 
able  to  repay  it." 

My  eyes  filled  witn  tears,  and  I  know  not  what  I  said  in 
reply. 

"  I  wish,"  he  added, "  that  you  had  told  me  of  your  straitened 
circumstances  before  now;  it  was  hardly  friendly  in  you  to 
keep  all  these  things  secret  from  me." 

The  Rs.  250  which  I  ventured  to  ask,  and  which  he  cheer- 
fully loaned,  were  barely  enough  to  tide  us  over  the  present 
difficulty.  The  tent  arrived,  with  a  heavy  bill  for  transporta- 
tion, on  carts,  all  the  way  from  Fatehgarh,  five  or  six  hundred 
miles.  It  was  set  up  and  ready  for  my  family,  who  joined  me 
on  the  26th  of  October.     During  all  their  tiresome  wagon  ride 


BEGINNING    UNDER    PECUNIARY    EMBARRASSMENT.  59 

of  three  hundred  miles,  they  had  looked  forward  with  the 
pleasant  anticipation  of  landing  at  the  comfortable  and  cheerful 
home  of  my  host ;  but  instead  of  this  they  came  unexpectedly 
to  our  tent  on  the  mission  grounds,  where  a  chaos  of  bricks, 
lime,  saw-logs,  foundation  digging,  and,  I  may  add,  my  very 
imperfect  housekeeping,  presented  a  cheerless  appearance, 
and  produced  on  their  minds  a  gloomy  impression  of  our  home 
of  the  future. 


CHAPTER    V. 
bird's-eye  view  of  the  field. 

THE    FIELD  VIEWED     POLITICALLY — STATISTICALLY — GEOGRAPHICALLY 
— PHYSICALLY — HISTORICALLY — INDUSTRIALLY — PROPHETICALLY. 

A  GENERAL  knowledge  of  any  particular  mission  field 
will  help  us  very  much  to  understand  what  needs  to  be 
done  for  that  field,  and  will  in  many  ways  enliven  our  interest 
in  all  efforts  made  to  bring  its  people  to  Jesus.  For  it  is  an 
indisputable  fact  that  multitudes  of  Christians  feel  little  or  no 
interest  in  the  distant  countries  and  peoples  of  the  world,  be- 
cause they  are  not  acquainted  with  them,  whilst  those  who  are 
best  acquainted  feel  the  liveliest  interest. 

I  shall  not  speak  of  the  whole  of  India,  with  its  250  millions 
of  population,  as  our  Jield,  nor  even  of  North  India  with  its 
143  millions;  but  will  speak  of  the  Panjab'  only,  which  is  the 
most  northerly  province  of  North  India. 

This  province,  with  its  present  boundary*  (in  1885),  con- 
tains 144,000  square  miles  of  territory,  one-fourth  of  which  is 
under  native  rule,  and  three-fourths  under  British  rule.  Our 
knowledge  of  that  part  which  is  ruled  by  native  kings  is  com- 
paratively limited;  but  of  the  remaining  107,000  square  miles 
immediately  under  the  British,  37,000  are  cultivated — much 
of  it  being  so  by  the  aid  of  canals;  37,000  more  could  be  cul- 
tivated were  canal  irrigation  sufficiently  extended;  whilst  33,- 
000  square  miles  consist  of  inhospitable  mountains  and  uncul- 
tivable  wastes. 

The  population  of  heathen  India  does  not  increase  as  rapidly 
as  that  of  most  Christian  countries,  the  rate  of  increase  being 
much    influenced  by  frequent  wars,  famines,  sickly  seasons, 

*The  Delhi  territory  an^  other  tracts  were  added  to  the  Panjab'  in  1859. 

(60) 


bird's-eye  view  of  the  field.  6 1 

and  overcrowding.  Of  the  three  enumerations  taken  in  the 
Panjab'  in  1855,  1868,  and  1881  respectively,  that  of  1868  was 
taken  after  seven  years  of  exceptional  prosperity,  and  showed 
an  increase  of  16  per  cent,  in  thirteen  years ;  whilst  the  census 
of  1 88 1,  which  followed  the  late  Ka'bul  war,  high  prices,  and 
epidemic  cholera  and  fever,  showed  an  increase  of  only  7  per 
cent,  in  thirteen  years.  According  to  the  latest  census,  that  of 
1 88 1,  the  native  portion  contained  an  aggregate  population  of 
3,861,683,  and  the  district  under  British  rule,  18,850,437, 
making  a  total  of  22,712,120  souls. 

That  part  of  the  Panjab'  which  is  ruled  by  natives  consists 
of  thirty-four  native  States,  located  in  different  and  widely 
separated  parts  of  the  province.  These  States  are  governed  by 
native  chiefs  or  kings,  who  are  dependent  on  and  tributary  to 
the  British  government.  They  vary  in  extent  and  population 
from  one  of  17,000  square  miles  with  a  population  of  1,500,000', 
to  one  of  only  four  square  miles  with  a  population  of  590  souls;. 

The  British  portiojt  of  the  Panjab'  consists  of  thirty-two 
Civil  Districts,  differing  in  area  from  that  of  Delhi  Districl;, 
with  1,258  square  miles,  to  that  of  the  mountainous  District 
of  Kan'gra,  with  8,389  square  miles.  Their  population  varies 
from  181,540  in  Kohat',  to  1,067,263  in  Ambal'la;  whilst  the 
average  to  a  square  mile  runs  as  low  as  47  in  the  sandy  Dis- 
trict of  De'ra-Is'mail-Khan,  and  as  high  as  597  in  Jullundur, 
The  most  populous  districts  are  those  lying  in  the  northern 
part  of  the  Panjab',  near  the  foot  of  the  Himalaya  mountains, 
and  among  them  are  those  of  Sial'kot  and  Gurdas'pur. 

When  we  entered  the  Panjab'  in  1855,  mission  work  had 
recently  been  commenced  in  only  a  few  places,  whilst  the 
greater  part  of  the  province  lay  before  us  unoccupied.  Some 
missionary  societies  operating  in  this  and  other  provinces  of 
North  India,  have  extended  their  operations  by  occupying 
principal  stations  widely  separated  from  one  another,  and 
they  have  labored  chiefly  in  large  cities ;  whilst  the  ground 
occupied  by  us  is  very  compact,  and  our  efforts,  especially  in 
later  years,  have  been  chiefly  directed  to  the  country  people. 


62  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

TJie  seven   Civil  Districts  in  which  we  now  have  mission 
stations  may  be  exhibited  in  the  following  table : 

Name.  ^^en  first  Square  mile,, 

occupied.  ' 

SiaFkot  .  . 
Gujranwa^la 
Gurdas''pur  . 
Jhi''lam.  .  . 
Jhang  .  .  . 
Shah'pur.  . 
Montgomery 


1855  1,958 

1863  2,587 

1872  1,882 

1874  3,910 

1884  5,702 

1884  4,691 

1884  5,574 


Population  in 

Average  to  square 

l88z. 

mile. 

1,012,148 

517 

616,892 

238 

823,69s 

452 

589,373 

151 

395,296 

69 

421,508 

90 

425.529 

77 

Leaving  out  of  view  the  very  small  District  of  Sim'la,  a 
summer  resort  of  the  Government  of  India,  and  in  every  re- 
spect exceptional,  Sial'kot  has  the  largest  population  of  any 
District  in  the  Panjab'  except  one,  and  the  largest  average  to 
the  square  mile  except  two,  in  which  the  average  is  increased 
by  large  cities.  More  remains  to  be  said  of  these  divisions 
of  our  field  as  they  come  up  in  the  course  of  our  narrative. 

In  order  to  relieve  the  reader  a  little  from  the  tedium  of 
mere  monotonous  statistics,  I  will  now  endeavor  to  bring  the 
Panjab'  in  general,  and  our  own  field  in  particular,  vividly 
before  our  mental  vision,  by  taking,  as  it  were,  a  bird's-eye 
view  from  some  lofty  point  of  observation.  To  obtain  this, 
and  at  the  same  time  catch  a  glimpse  of  the  works  of  God  in 
the  grandest  natural  scenery  on  the  globe,  we  will  resort  to 
the  Himalaya  mountains,  which,  all  along  the  northerly  bor- 
der of  the  Panjab',  and  of  all  India,  ever  stand 

"  Piled  up  to  the  clouds, 
Conspicuous  far." 

Mount  Washington  is  6,234  feet  high,  and  Pike's  Peak  13,- 
000 ;  whilst  the  Alps,  where 

"The  soaring  glacier's  ice 
Gleams  like  a  paradise," 

can  boast  of  only  two  peaks  which  exceed  15,000  feet.  But  it 
is  computed  that  in  the  Himalayas,  or  rather  in  the  limited 
part  of  them  known  to  us,  there  are  2,000  peaks  ranging  from 
20,000  to  29,000  feet  in  height,   1,100  of  which  have  been 


bird's-eye  view  of  the  field.  63 

measured.  Along  the  northern  border  of  the  great  plain  of 
the  Panjab'  there  is  a  belt  of  comparatively  low  hills,  thirty 
miles  in  breadth,  which  is  inhabited,  and  covered  with  forests 
and  other  vegetation;  beyond  this  low  belt  rises  the  stupendous 
Himalaya  Range,  which  some  one  has  fitly  styled  ''tlie  back 
bofie  of  the  woj'ld."  Seventy  miles  north  from  the  edge  of  the 
Panjab'  plain,  stands  a  peak  called  Kun  Nun,  but  familiarly 
named  the  "  Nun  "  because  her  face  is  often  veiled  in  clouds. 
The  "Nun,"  with  her  icy  summit  rising  higher  than  other 
peaks  in  that  region,*  is  always  visible  from  the  plains  in  clear 
weather.  The  top  of  this  will  be  a  suitable  point  from  which 
to  enjoy  our  bird's-eye  view  of  the  field.  And  in  order  to  give 
ourselves  the  advantage  of  the  best  position,  we  will,  in  imagi- 
nation, dissect  the  "  Nun "  from  you  great  spinal  column 
of  the  world,  and,  moving  her  out  by  a  herculean  feat  of  engi- 
neering as  was  done  to  the  Egyptian  obelisks,  we  will  set  her 
up  on  the  plain  between  the  foot  of  the  hills  and  Sial'kot,  our 
headquarters. 

What  a  giantess!  She  could  look  proudly  down  upon 
Mount  Washington  if  it  were  set  upon  the  top  of  Mont  Blanc. 
No  squatting  mound,  but  a  pyramid  of  graceful  proportions, 
rising  steep  on  every  side  until  she  terminates  in  a  sharp 
angle  at  the  top,  though  her  huge  base  would  cover  the  Dis- 
trict of  Columbia.  Egypt's  loftiest  pyramid,  if  increased  in 
stature  forty-fold,  would  appear  but  a  pigmy  by  her  side.  An 
eagle  would  be  lost  to  human  vision  before  she  would  soar 
half  way  up.  The  mercury  would  freeze  on  her  summit  while 
the  orange  blossoms  at  her  base.  Building  materials  for  a 
thousand  cities  could  be  quarried  out  of  her  without  causing 
perceptible  diminution,  and  an  army  could  lose  itself  in  one  of 
the  gorges  that  furrow  her  sides.  As  we  gaze  upon  this  colos- 
sal pile  of  granite  and  think  of  its  weight,  we  begin  to  feel  con- 
cerned lest  the  earth's  crust  may  give  way,  and  the  ponderous 
mass  plunge  into  the  liquid  fire  beneath,  sending  the  shattered 
plain  up  on  every  side  amid  columns  of  volcanic  fire.     Dear 

*  Kun  Nun  is  23,447  feet  high  according  to  the  Grand  Trigonometrical  Survey. 


64  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

reader,  I  ask  the  favor  of  your  company  now  for  a  single  hour, 
whilst,  equipped  with  telescope,  and  note-book,  and  seated  on 
the  summit  of  the  "Nun"  as  our  observatory,  we  look  down 
upon  no  imaginary  scene  spread  out  below  us,  and  proceed  to 
make  our  observations. 

Before  viewing  the  great  populous  plain  south  of  us,  we 
must  take  a  glance  at  the  belt  of  lower  hills  stretching  east  and 
west  between  the  plain  and  the  snowy  heights  to  the  north- 
ward. Here  are  valleys  of  every  size,  from  the  lovely  dell  no 
larger  than  a  garden,  to  the  great  Kangra  Valley  one  hundred 
miles  long,  with  its  table-lands  and  diminutive  mountain 
ranges,  its  hills  and  dales,  its  rivers  and  torrents,  its  cities  and 
villages,  its  rice  farms  and  tea  plantations,  and  its  seven  hun- 
dred thousand  souls.  Here  are  hills  and  mountains  of  every 
height,  from  nine  or  ten  thousand  feet  down  to  mere  hillocks 
at  the  border  of  the  plain.  Here  too  are  plants  in  every 
variety,  from  the  soft  luxurious  tropical  vegetation  of  the  low 
valleys  up  to  the  hardy  oaks  and  stately  cedars  of  Lebanon 
on  the  heights.  Many  of  these  hill-sides,  you  observe,  are 
dotted  over  with  shepherd  hamlets,  a  dozen  or  a  score  of 
which  may  be  counted  on  a  single  slope.  All  over  these  green 
hills  and  valleys,  you  observe  hundreds  of  nebulous  spots ; 
but  they  are  not  tufts  of  fog.  If  you  turn  the  telescope  towards 
one  of  them,  you  will  discover  that  it  is  a  flock  of  three  or 
four  hundred  sheep  and  goats.  Near  by  stands  their  careful 
shepherd.  He  is  guarding  them  from  hungry  bears  and 
leopards,  and  leading  them  in  green  pastures.  Meanwhile  he 
is  improving  his  leisure  hours  with  a  spindle,  on  which  he 
twists  woolen  yarn  for  home-made  fabrics.  The  old  ruined 
forts,  which  still  crown  almost  every  commanding  eminence,  tell 
us  of  political  divisions,  tribal  feuds,  and  petty  wars  of  the  past. 
Finally,  the  multitudes  of  idol  temples  and  shrines  which  we 
see  on  high  places  and  under  green  trees,  indicate  a  people 
given  over  to  idolatry ;  and  they  reveal  the  depth  of  moral  and 
religious  degradation  to  which  man  can  sink,  even  where 
everything  around  him  declares  the  glory  of  God. 


bird's-eye  view  of  the  field.  65 

Turning  our  faces  southward  now  towards  the  great  and 
populous  plain  of  the  Panjab',  in  which  our  mission  field  lies, 
we  will  make  a  more  careful  survey,  first,  of  its  physical  fea- 
tures. This  great  plain,  which  is  about  equal  to  Texas,  or 
double  the  size  of  Great  Britain,  is  slightly  diversified  with 
small  ranges  of  hills.  The  most  notable  of  these  is  the  Salt 
Range,  situated  one  hundred  miles  west  of  our  observatory. 
Its  inexhaustible  mines  of  excellent  salt  are  owned  by  the 
Government,  and  yield  an  annual  revenue  of  more  than  three 
millions  of  rupees. 

The  six  principal  rivers  of  the  Panjab'  take  their  rise  in  the 
snow-clad  mountains  north  of  us.  We  see  them  issuing  from 
the  foot  of  the  Himalayas  into  the  plain  at  our  right  and  left. 
Glistening  like  cords  of  silver,  they  wend  their  way  south- 
westward  to  the  Arabian  sea.  From  five  of  these  rivers,  the 
Sat'laj,  the  Bias',  the  Ra'vi,  the  Chinab',  and  the  Jh'i'lam,  the 
Panjab'  takes  its  name — panj  (five)  and  ixb'  (waters).  The 
sixth  and  largest  river,  the  Indus,  which  is  called  the  Nile  of 
India,  and  was  mistaken  by  some  ancient  geographers  for  the 
Nile  of  Egypt,  runs  down  the  western  boundary-line  of  the 
Panjab',  and  on  its  way  to  the  sea  receives  the  waters  of  the 
other  five  rivers. 

The  space  between  two  rivers  is  called  a  Do'db' ,  from  do 
(two),  and  db  (waters) ;  and  each  Dodb'  takes  its  name  from 
the  initial  letters  or  syllables  in  the  names  of  the  two  rivers 
which  bound  it.  Thus,  the  space  between  the  Bias'  and  Sat'- 
laj is  called  the  Bast  Dodb' ,  that  between  the  Bias'  and  Ra'vi 
the  Ba'ri  Dodb',  that  between  the  Ra'vi  and  Chinab'  the 
Rach'na  Dodb'  and  that  between  the  Chinab'  and  Jh'i'lam  the 
Chaj  Dodb'. 

These  rivers  are  very  troublesome,  for  when  heavy  rains  or 
melting  snows  cause  them  to  rise,  they  overflow  and  spread 
out  very  far  over  the  level  country;  when  they  fall,  as  some 
of  them  do  fall,  low  enough  to  be  forded,  they  leave  a  broad 
belt  of  deep  sand  on  each  side  of  the  channel ;  and  so,  in  the 
absence  of  bridges  and  good  ferries,  they  present  formidable 


66  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

difficulties  in  the  way  of  traveling  east  and  west.  But  they 
are  also  a  blessing.  Both  in  the  mountain  valleys  and  in  the 
plains,  the  practice  of  irrigating  fields  on  a  small  scale  by 
means  of  canals  fed  from  these  rivers  is  very  ancient,  and  Brit- 
ish enterprise  is  now  doing  the  same  thing  on  a  large  scale. 

Climate  and  Teinperature. — The  Panjab'  enjoys  colder  wea- 
ther, and  suffers  from  hotter  weather,  than  any  other  province 
of  India.  On  the  plain,  the  temperature  in  May,  which  is  the 
hottest  month,  varies  in  different  districts,  according  to  the 
Government  record,  from  104  to  ii8}4  degrees  above  zero  in 
the  shade.  In  December,  the  coolest  month,  it  ranges  from 
24  to  60  degrees  above  zero.  In  the  English  sanitary  stations 
on  the  hills,  at  an  elevation  of  6,000  or  7,000  feet  above  the 
sea  level,  the  temperature  in  May  registers  from  80  to  90  de- 
grees in  the  shade.  During  the  long  cloudless  days  of  April, 
May,  and  June,  the  air  of  the  plain  becomes  intensely  heated, 
and  rises;  and  the  Panjab'  thus  acts  as  an  exhaust-chamber 
for  all  India.  Moist  air  then  rushes  in  to  fill  the  vacuum,  and 
produces  the  rains  of  July,  August  and  September.  These 
rains  are  very  unequally  distributed  over  the  Province.  As 
the  moisture-laden  winds  sweep  around  from  the  ocean  and 
touch  the  cold  heights  at  our  feet,  they  give  out  rain  in  great 
abundance,  the  yearly  rain-fall  in  some  places  along  these 
lower  hills  amounting  to  as  much  as  120  inches;  whereas  in 
some  of  the  central  parts  of  the  Province,  two  or  three  hun- 
dred miles  south  of  these  hills,  it  seldorn  exceeds  six  or  eight 
inches  in  the  year. 

During  the  time  of  these  rains,  which  pour  down  so  abun- 
dantly all  along  the  lower  hills,  water  rushes  violently  down 
the  deep  mountain  gorges,  cutting  them  still  deeper,  and  invit- 
ing large  quantities  of  earth  and  rocks  from  their  steep  banks 
in  the  form  of  land-slides ;  fragments  of  rock  are  forced  down- 
wards and  rounded  into  boulders;  earth  is  washed  down  and 
spread  over  the  plain,  or  deposited  at  the  seashore  through 
many  river  mouths,  where  it  silts  up  and  extends  the  country 
seaward. 


bird's-eye  view  of  the  field.  67 

By  the  impetuous  behavior  of  these  mountain  torrents,  a 
strip  of  country  between  the  mountains  and  the  plain  is 
washed,  furrowed,  torn,  and  heaped  into  all  manner  of  fantas- 
tic shapes,  and  boulders  of  every  size  are  strewed  about. 
Some  of  the  smaller  streams  dash  out  over  the  plain,  and  swell 
beyond  their  banks;  further  on  they  sometimes  lose  their 
channels,  and  finally  disappear  in  bogs  and  sandy  wastes.  The 
larger  streams  and  rivers  move  out  from  the  foot  of  the  hills 
with  less  bluster,  and  pursue  their  courses  with  more  steadi- 
ness and  dignity;  but  they  make  for  themselves  an  inconveni- 
ently wide  path,  washing  away  rich  acres,  now  from  one  bank 
and  then  from  the  other,  and  leaving  a  broad  belt  of  deep 
sand  now  on  this  side  of  their  channel  and  again  on  that. 

Whether  or  not  this  whole  plain  spread  out  before  us  was 
originally  formed  of  materials  washed  down  from  the  moun- 
tains, I  cannot  say;  but  as  we  look  down  from  Kun  Nun  and 
witness  the  vast  scale  on  which  this  process  is  carried  on,  we 
cannot  doubt  that  it  is  possible.  The  washing-away  process 
takes  place  mainly  at  the  base,  making  the  higher  ranges  and 
peaks  to  run  up  steep  and  sharp ;  Avhen  they  are  sufficiently 
undermined,  down  comes  the  top,  and  the  range  becomes  a 
little  lower.  Land-slides  on  a  grand  scale  are  of  frequent 
occurrence,  and  small  ones  are  taking  place  continually  in  the 
time  of  heavy  rains.  Tradition  points  out  a  mound-shaped 
hill  in  the  Kan'gra  valley  east  of  us,  with  several  miles  of 
gentle  slope  between  it  and  the  base  of  the  mountain  range 
north  of  it,  and  tells  us  quite  confidently  that  it  slid  down  long 
ago  from  those  mountains  to  where  we  now  see  it. 

The  fertile  portions  of  the  great  plain  before  us  are  cultivated 
in  wheat,  barley,  maize,  cotton,  rice,  tobacco,  lentils,  hemp, 
flax,  mustard,  and  many  other  crops.  Other  portions  farther 
away  from  the  mountains,  where  rain  is  scarce,  are  sandy  and 
barren.  Strips  and  patches  of  saltpetre  land  are  visible  in  some 
places,  like  great  white  leprous  spots,  almost  entirely  desti- 
tute of  trees  and  grass.  Intermediate  between  fertility  and 
barrenness  we  see  large  uncultivated  tracts  where  the  peasantry 


68  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

are  grazing  their  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats,  cows  and  buffaloes. 
We  notice  that  the  native  horses  are  small,  and  in  almost  every 
respect  very  inferior;  but  we  observe  also  a  sprinkling  of  Arab, 
Australian,  and  English  breeds,  recently  introduced,  which  are 
valuable.  We  see  no  fences — fencing  timber  being  scarce, 
stones  wanting,  and  shepherds  and  cow-boys  plenty.  We  see 
droves  of  little  asses  meekly  bearing  their  heavy  burdens  about 
the  brick-kilns  and  large  towns,  while  the  owner  is  beating 
them  cruelly  with  his  staff  Where  trees  are  plenty  you  can 
see  camels  stretching  their  long  necks  upward  for  leaves — • 
their  only  food — whilst  the  owner  pulls  the  branches  down 
within  their  reach  with  his  long  crook.  We  note  that  forests 
are  very  rare  on  the  plain,  but  the  more  fertile  regions  are 
dotted  over  with  indigenous  trees  in  great  numbers  and 
variety,  and  the  principal  roads  are  lined  on  each  side  with 
shade  trees.  Here  and  there  groves  of  young  forest  trees  are 
beginning  to  thrive  under  British  rule.  Gardens,  too,  which 
consist  largely  of  poorly  cultivated  mango,  orange  and  lime 
trees,  with  a  sprinkling  of  the  peach  recently  introduced,  add 
beauty  to  the  landscape,  but  do  not  yield  very  much  fruit  that 
can  be  called  really  good. 

The  thunder  storm,  more  frequent  in  March  and  April  than 
other  months,  is  a  magnificent  spectacle  when  seen  from  a 
great  height.  With  outlines  clearly  defined — lightnings  flash- 
ing out  from  the  thick  darkness,  and  thunder  booming  up 
tardily  from  the  distance — the  storm  moves  majestically  over 
the  plain.  The  inhabitants  below,  like  poor  souls  in  trouble, 
look  up  and  believe  the  whole  heavens  dark;  yet  that  darkness 
we  see  is  a  mere  spot,  whilst  infinite  space  around  and  above, 
like  the  light  and  love  of  him  who  "so  loved  the  world," 
is  as  bright  and  joyous  as  a  clear  sun  can  make  it.  By  and 
by  the  rainy  season  will  be  ushered  in  with  a  general  storm — 
not  in  some  well  defined  spot,  not  with  flashes  and  peals, 
but  with  a  night-long  blazing  and  gleaming  and  roaring — 
with  dense,  dark  clouds  and  heavy  rains  over  the  whole  land, 
from  river  to  river  and  from  mountain  base  to  sea-shore. 


bird's-eye  view  of  the  field.  69 

The  sand  storm  is  a  rarer  sight  than  the  ordinary  thunder 
storm.  Choosing  the  driest,  hottest,  and  stillest  afternoon,  as  if 
intentionally,  to  wake  up  the  world  with  a  sudden  surprise,  the 
hot  winds  in  a  wild  freak  gather  dust  from  beneath  and  vapor 
from  above,  and  drive  them  rolling  and  whirling  along  tumul- 
tously with  tremendous  velocity.  The  lurid  dust-clouds,  not 
unlike  a  vast  conflagration,  contrast  sharply  with  the  dark 
vapor  clouds  —  each  contending  furiously  for  the  mastery. 
For  thirty  to  sixty  minutes  the  lower  heavens  seem  turned 
into  a  battle  field,  whilst  the  earth  beneath  is  palled  in  mid- 
night darkness.  Then  come  a  few  rounds  of  thunder  and 
lightning — the  rain  pours,  the  dust  subsides,  and  the  air  turns 
clear  and  cool. 

Historical  Sketch. — Turning  now  from  the  physical  aspects 
of  the  field,  we  will  look  for  a  moment  at  its  past  history;  this 
will  be  the  shortest  way  to  explain  many  things  about  the 
people,  their  tribal  divisions,  their  religious  customs,  their 
institutions  and  languages,  which  would  not  otherwise  be 
understood. 

As  early,  probably,  as  the  time  of  Moses,  and  possibly  some- 
what earlier,  the  Panjab'  was  inhabited  by  aboriginal  tribes. 
Of  their  history  we  know  little — less  even  than  we  know  of 
the  early  history  of  the  American  Indians.  But  that  they  ex- 
isted we  know  certainly  from  the  remnants  of  them  which  still 
exist. 

There  was  a  very  ancient  race  of  people'  called  Aryans,  who 
inhabited  the  highlands  of  Central  Asia.  Some  of  these  emi- 
grated southward  and  peopled  Persia;  some  emigrated  west- 
ward and  peopled  Europe;  and  others  came  south-eastward, 
over  the  lofty  Hindoo  Koosh  mountains,  and  down  into  the 
Panjab'.  Here  they  conquered  the  darker  and  less  civilized 
aborigines,  making  slaves  of  some  of  them  and  driving  others 
to  the  mountains.  These  Aryans  introduced  the  Sanskrit 
language;  and  from  them  arose  Brahmanism  with  its  idol 
worship,  Hindu  temples,  and  caste  system.  The  conquerors 
would  naturally  assume  the  highest  caste  and  choicest  occu- 
pations, and  grade  others  below  themselves. 


yO  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Ages  afterwards,  and  a  short  time  before  Esther  was  crowned 
queen  of  Persia,  probably  about  527  or  530  years  B.C.,  Darius 
Hystaspes,  king  of  Persia,  came  in  from  the  west,  crossing 
the  Indus  on  a  bridge  of  boats;  and  a  part  of  the  Panjab' 
was  numbered  among  the  one  hundred  and  twenty-seven 
provinces  of  the  Persian  Empire. 

Near  the  same  time,  Buddha,  a  young  prince  from  the  foot 
of  the  Himalaya  mountains  in  the  eastern  part  of  Hindustan', 
forsook  his  father's  palace,  became  a  religious  devotee,  and 
started  a  new  religion  called  Buddhism,  which  prevailed  in 
India  for  one  thousand  years,  and  afterwards  fell  away  east- 
ward and  northward;  and  though  this  is  still  the  religion  of 
nearly  one-third  of  the  human  race,  it  has  almost  disappeared 
from  the  Panjab'. 

Again,  about  seventy  years  after  the  prophet  Malachi,  or 
three  hundred  and  twenty-seven  years  B.  C,  the  Grecian  con- 
queror, Alexander  the  Great,  came  in  from  the  west  and  led 
his  army  across  the  Panjab'  as  far  as  the  Satlij  river ;  but  he 
soon  departed,  leaving  very  {tw  footprints,  as  we  should  natu- 
rally expect  from  Daniel's  description  of  his  invasion:  '^Behold 
an  he-goat  came  from  the  west  on  the  face  of  the  whole  earth, 
and  touched  not  the  ground." 

After  this,  Seleucus,  one  of  Alexander's  successors — again 
the  Bactrian  Greek  kings  from  the  north — and  Chandragapta 
and  Asoka  from  the  southeast,  each  in  turn  conquering  the 
Panjab',  ruled  over  it  for  a  time. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century  of  the  Christian 
era,  a  new  religious  sect  called  Jains,  about  midway  between 
Brahmins  and  Buddhists,  sprang  up  in  India  and  prevailed  for 
several  centuries,  taking  the  Panjab'  in  its  train;  but  it  again 
gave  way  to  Brahminism. 

In  the  year  996  of  the  Christian  era,  Sultan'  Mahmud',  the 
first  great  Muhammadan  conqueror,  began  in  earnest  the 
Muhammadan  invasion  from  the  west.  His  followers  first 
plundered  and  afterwards  subdued  the  Panjab'.  No  less  than 
seventeen  times   was  it  invaded   during:  the   lifetime  of  that 


bird's-eye  view  of  the  field.  71 

remarkable  leader.  By  the  power  of  the  sword  and  kindred 
instrumentalities,  he  made  hosts  of  converts  to  the  Muham- 
madan  religion,  destroyed  many  temples,  and  won  for  himself 
a  number  of  high-sounding  titles,  one  of  which  was  "  The 
Image  Breaker!'  Mosques  were  built  in  many  of  these  Pan- 
jab'i  towns  and  villages ;  crowing  priests  were  set  to  call  the 
people  to  prayers  five  times  a  day,  and  the  boys  began  to  learn 
the  Persian  and  Arabic  languages. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century  Guru  Nan'ak 
founded  a  new  religious  sect  in  the  Panjab',  and  called  his 
followers  Sikhs  (disciples).  These  Sikhs  may  be  called  Re- 
formed Hindus.  They  discard  idols,  never  smoke,  and  eat 
pork.  They  were  cruelly  persecuted  by  the  Muhammadans, 
and  so  they  developed  into  a  brave  and  warlike  nation  in  the 
course  of  the  first  century  of  their  existence;  at  the  end  of 
two  centuries  more  we  find  them  the  ruling  power  in  the  land 
of  the  five  rivers,  and  consolidated  into  a  powerful  kingdom 
under  Mali'drdja  Ranjit  Singh,  *'  the  Lion  of  the  Panjab'." 

In  the  year  1601,  a  little  before  King  James  gave  his  order 
for  translating  the  Bible,  the  English  entered  India  from  the 
southeast  in  the  capacity  of  a  trading  company.  In  1757  ^^^7 
founded  an  empire,  and  became  the  chief  power  in  India. 
Having  worked  their  way  up  northwest,  they  crossed  the 
Sutlej  and  annexed  the  Panjab'  in  1849.  They  put  an  end 
to  the  burning  of  widows  alive  on  the  funeral  piles  of  their 
husbands,  to  the  murdering  of  female  infants,  and  to  the  bury- 
ing of  lepers  alive,  and  gave  better  security  in  general  to  life 
and  property.  They  proclaimed  liberty  of  speech  and  liberty 
of  the  press.  They  made  roads  and  bridges,  and  planted  trees. 
They  established  cheap  postage  and  good  schools,  and  made 
English  education  respectable  and  profitable.  They  opened 
an  extensive  trade  between  England  and  India,  flooded  the 
country  with  beer,  wine,  and  spirits,  and  placed  over  it  an 
administration  which  the  poor  people  regard  as  very  burden- 
some. 

Such   are    the    principal    changes — the    great    revolutions. 


^2  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

political,  national,  social,  religious,  and  linguistic,  which  have 
passed  over  the  Panjab'.  In  addition  to  all  these,  there  have 
been  many  smaller  ones  of  the  same  nature.  Many  an  am- 
bitious leader  has  drawn  his  sword,  sought  supremacy,  and 
perished.  Religious  devotees  without  number  have  risen  up, 
made  wonderful  pretensions,  drummed  up  a  following,  and 
passed  away,  leaving  traces  of  their  superstitions  and  followers. 

Now,  since  all  these  revolutions  have  left  their  mark  and 
monuments  in  some  form  or  other,  we  see,  as  we  should  nat- 
urally expect,  an  endJess  variety  in  the  picture  before  us.  The 
Panjab'  is  therefore  not  one  nation,  but  many.  People  of 
many  modern  nationalities  are  here  in  sufficient  numbers  to 
form  important  component  parts  of  the  population;  whilst  tJie 
remnants  of  ancient  tribes,  whose  origin  is  hidden  away  back 
in  the  darkness  of  prehistoric  times,  are  very  numerous,  even 
at  the  present  day. 

Similarly,  we  see  not  one  religion  but  many.  According  to 
the  census  of  i88i  there  were  in  this  province  11,662,000 
Muhammadans,  9,252,000  Hindus,  1,716,000  Sikhs,  42,000 
Jains,  33,CXD0  (nominal)  Christians,  8,000  Buddhists,  and  about 
1,600  belonging  to  other  sects.  (The  Christians  include  all 
Europeans  and  Eurasians,  as  well  as  native  Christians  of  every 
sect;  the  Hindus  embrace  all  castes,  and  people  without  caste, 
who  are  not  included  in  the  other  denominations  mentioned.) 
Hence  it  is  that  we  see  Muhammadan  mosques,  Hindu  idol 
temples,  Sikh  temples  without  idols,  and  a  variety  of  places  of 
worship  of  other  sects.  We  see  fine  English  churches  at  the 
headquarters  of  every  civil  district,  and,  in  the  principal  dis- 
tricts, Roman  Catholic  chapels  and  convents ;  whilst  Protest- 
ant mission  churches  and  school  houses  are  beginning  to 
appear 

So,  too,  in  regard  to  languages,  we  find  not  one  but  many 
in  the  Panjab',  some  of  which  have  ceased  to  be  spoken.  The 
Sanskrit,  which  was  brought  in  long  ago  by  the  Aryans,  is 
now  a  dead  language,  but  is  religiously  studied  by  the 
Brahmins  as  the  original  language  of  their  sacred  Shasters, 


BIRD  S-EYE    VIEW    OF    THE    FIELD.  73 

and  is  the  root  language  of  much  of  the  spoken  dialects.  The 
Arabic  Koran  is  religiously  committed  to  memory  from  begin- 
ning to  end  by  many  Muhammadan  priests,  especially  the 
blind  ones.  With  a  few  exceptions,  they  recite  it  like  par- 
rots, without  understanding  it,  whilst  they  are  ever  ready  in 
controversy  to  quote  it  confidently,  angrily,  and  with  the 
utmost  pomposity.  The  Persian  language  is  studied  very 
much  as  we  study  Latin,  because  of  its  relation  to  some  of 
the  spoken  languages.  Gurmukh'i  also,  which  derives  its 
name  from  Guru-mukh-i  (the  language  of  the  mouth  of  the 
priest),  is  that  in  which  the  Granth,  the  sacred  book  of  the 
Sikhs,  is  written.  The  priests  read  it,  but  it  is  not  well  under- 
stood, at  least  in  some  parts  of  the  province,  by  the  common 
people. 

Of  the  languages  now  spoken  in  the  Panjab',  we  have  first 
the  Urdu,  which  is  also  called  the  Hin'dusta'n'i.  This  is  re- 
garded by  many  as  the  first  and  most  important  one  for  a 
missionary  to  learn.  It  is  derived  in  about  equal  proportions 
from  the  Sanskrit,  Arabic  and  Persian  languages.  It  is  flexi- 
ble and  rich,  and  ever  enriching  itself  from  foreign  sources. 
The  rulers  give  it  the  chief  importance  in  their  educational 
system,  which  makes  it  the  language  of  the  educated  classes ; 
and  they  use  it  in  their  courts  and  in  government  business 
generally  throughout  all  of  North  India.  It  has  several  gram- 
mars and  dictionaries,  and  a  literature  ;  and  missionary  enter- 
prise has  given  it  a  good  translation  of  the  Bible,  together 
with  a  small  beginning  in  the  way  of  Christian  literature.  It 
is  spoken  by  four  millions  of  people  in  the  Panjab'. 

The  Hindi  is  a  dialect  included  in  the  general  term  Hin'- 
dusta'ni,  and  diverges  so  far  that  missionaries  have  given  it  a 
separate  translation  of  the  Bible,  and  some  religious  books 
and  tracts. 

The  language  which  I  think  should  be  viewed  from  the 
missionary's  standpoint  as  the  most  important  of  all  in  our 
field  is  the  Panja'b'i.  Some  say  this  is  not  a  language — only  a 
jargon — and  some  call  it  a  dialect,     I  will  not  waste  time  over 


74  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

the  name,  but  its  great  importance  lies  in  the  fact  that  more 
than  fourteen  millions  of  the  Panja'bi  people  understand  it 
better  than  any  other  language  or  dialect,  and  are  likely  to  do 
so  for  generations  to  come.  But  it  presents  practical  difficul- 
ties to  the  missionary.  In  almost  every  village  it  has  a  double 
dialect,  one  set  of  religious  and  theological  terms  being  used 
by  the  Panja'bis  of  the  Hindu  religion,  and  another  by  those 
of  the  Muhammadan.  It  has  still  further  varieties  of  dialect 
in  all  the  Dodbs' ,  presenting  a  slight  difficulty  to  a  stranger  as 
often  as  he  crosses  a  river ;  this  also  is  increased  as  he  passes 
from  plain  to  hill,  or  from  hill  to  plain.  No  less  than  five 
main  types  of  the  Panja'bi  language  may  be  distinguished. 
Hence  the  Panja'bi  translation  of  the  Scriptures  made  by  our 
brethren  of  the  Ludhia'na  Mission  is  imperfectly  understood  at 
Sial'kot  and  Gujranwa'la,  and  a  translation  suitable  for  these 
places  would  not  suit  in  all  parts  of  even  our  own  field. 

Speaking  indefinitely,  there  are  besides  Urdii,  Hindi,  and 
Panja'bi,  about  a  dozen  other  languages  or  dialects  spoken  in 
the  Panjab' ;  but  as  they  are  spoken  by  tribes  in  the  outskirts 
of  the  province,  and  in  the  mountain  valleys  remote  from  our 
immediate  field,  and  as  these  tribes  do  not  amount  to  one-fifth 
of  the  whole  population,  we  need  not  wait  to  note  them. 

The  languages  with  which  we  are  practically  concerned  are 
printed  and  written  in  a  variety  of  letters.  The  Hindus  intro- 
duced the  Hindi  character;  the  IVkihammadans  brought  in  the 
Persian  alphabet;  and  Gurmukhi  letters  come  from  the  Sikhs; 
whilst  the  English  have  introduced  the  Roman.  Not  satisfied 
with  all  this,  these  languages  must  needs  borrow  alphabets 
from  one  another,  so  that  we  have  Urdii  books  in  Persian, 
Arabic,  and  Roman  characters.  In  like  manner  some  Hindi 
books  are  printed  in  Hindi  letters,  and  others  in  Roman.  Of 
the  few  Panja'bi  books  that  have  been  printed,  some  are  in  the 
Persian  character  and  others  in  the  Roman  ;  whilst  shop- 
keepers write  their  accounts  and  business  transactions  in  a 
character  which  differs  from  all  the  others.  In  addition  to  all 
this,  the  English  language  is  dropping  new  words  thick  and 
fast  into  this  Babel  confounded. 


bird's-eye  view  of  the  field.  75 

Instead,  therefore,  of  our  field  consisting  of  a  single  nation 
with  one  false  religious  system  for  us  to  combat,  and  one 
strange  tongue  for  us  to  learn,  it  is  a  heterogenous  and  con- 
fused conglomeration  of  everything,  dumped  in  from  north, 
south,  east,  and  west,  jumbled  together  by  every  kind  of 
agitating  force,  packed  and  cemented  under  oppression,  and 
turned  over  and  over  and  over  again  by  a  long  series  of  revo- 
lutions through  more  than  thirty  centuries.  This  feature  of 
the  field,  it  must  be  admitted,  is  somewhat  formidable  to  mis- 
sionaries coming  from  America,  where  fifty  millions  of  people 
use  the  same  language,  alphabet,  grammar,  dictionary,  and 
translation  of  the  Bible,  from  Atlantic  to  Pacific,  and  from  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Arctic  snows. 

Civilization  in  our  field. — Three  centuries  before  Julius 
Caesar  invaded  the  howling  wilderness  of  Great  Britain  to  fight 
our  half  clothed,  idolatrous  ancestors,  Alexander  the  Great 
found  a  people  in  the  Panjab'  who  ranked  with  the  foremost  in 
the  world  in  point  of  civilization.  The  twenty-two  centuries 
which  have  passed  away  since  the  time  of  Alexander  have 
made  very  little  change  in  their  civilization :  it  will  suffice, 
therefore,  to  look  at  it  as  it  now  exists ;  and  what  do  we  see  ? 
Not  Bible  civilization.  We  do  not  here  see  man  rising  up  in 
his  divinely-given  majesty  to  "subdue"  the  earth,  and  "  have 
dominion  over  every  living  thing  that  moveth  upon  the  earth." 
On  the  contrary,  we  see  an  over-crowded  and  half-starved 
population,  content  to  plow  the  easy,  and  leave  the  hard  and 
rugged ;  we  see  men  slavishly  bowing  down  to  many  living 
things  that  creep  the  earth,  instead  of  asserting  dominion  over 
them.  We  who  were  savages  twenty-two  centuries  ago  have 
left  them  far  behind  now — not  that  we  have  aught  to  boast  of, 
but  God  sent  us  the  Bible  and  missionaries,  and  from  these 
we  have  learned  to  stand  erect — to  rule  over  the  beasts — to 
seize  the  great  agencies  and  powers  of  inanimate  nature  and 
make  them  our  servants — to  develop  and  use  the  treasures  of 
our  God-given  inheritance,  and  thus  to  "subdue"  the  earth. 

The  civilization  on  exhibition  before  us  is  indolent,  setting 


y6  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

up  no  higher  aim  generally  than  to  meet  the  demands  of  dire 
necessity.  It  is  selfish,  looking  to  the  pleasure  and  aggrandize- 
ment of  the  rich,  the  noble,  the  powerful,  and  the  wise,  whilst 
it  cares  not  for  the  poor,  helpless,  ignorant,  base  and  miserable 
masses.  It  is  oppressive  and  cruel  to  man  and  beast,  and 
cares  not  to  utilize  wind,  water,  steam,  lightning  and  labor- 
saving  machinery,  so  long  as  there  is  another  poor  man's 
muscle  available,  or  a  bit  of  whole  skin  left  on  the  galled 
back  of  the  ass,  mule  or  camel.  It  is  a  superstitious  and 
inconsistent  civilization,  paying  homage  to  the  idle  mendicant, 
who  is  the  most  useless  of  all  men,  and  at  the  same  time  de- 
spising the  poor  laborer,  and  treating  with  horrid  cruelty  the 
beast  which  he  worships  as  a  god.  This  civilization  is  inge- 
nious enough  in  little  things.  It  is  systematic  enough  and 
sharply  enough  defined  in  its  divisions  of  labor.  The  persons 
of  a  particular  craft  often  join  together  to  form  a  kind  of 
trades-union,  and  jealously  guard  their  own  interests.  They 
often  provide  food  for  the  unemployed  out  of  the  earnings  of 
those  who  find  employment.  If  we  may  judge  from  those 
who  seek  employment  of  foreigners,  a  large  proportion  of  the 
people  are  so  dishonest  that  their  great  aim  seems  to  be  not  to 
excel  in  honest  industry  and  fair  dealing,  but  to  get  their 
penny-a-day  without  earning  it. 

Some  of  the  characteristics  of  these  people  are  very  annoy- 
ing to  the  straightforward,  energetic  foreigner  who  employs 
them.  If  he  undertakes  to  teach  them,  and  succeeds  in  mak- 
ing them  skillful  and  efficient  in  some  industrial  pursuit,  they 
are  sure  to  demand  higher  pay  or  leave.  If  he  gives  them  a 
contract,  a  most  expensive  supervision  becomes  necessary  in 
order  to  secure  honest  work.  If  he  urges  them  to  exert  them- 
selves and  give  him  a  fair  equivalent  for  their  wages,  they 
thoroughly  understand  the  art  of  passive  and  respectful  resist- 
ance, saying,  by  their  actions,  "You  may  take  just  as  much 
work  out  of  us  as  we  please  to  give  you,  or  you  may  call 
other  members  of  our  brotherhood,  and  see  whether  you  can 
better  yourself"     It  would  be  difficult,  I  think,  to  point  out  a 


BIRDS'EYE   VIEW    OF    THE    FIELD.  7/ 

spot  in  all  this  great  plain  that  is  not  ramified  by  a  net-work 
of  brotherhoods  or  trades-unions.  They  need  work,  and  seek 
it  most  eagerly,  from  the  foreigner  especially.  The  foreigner 
also  needs  them,  and  cannot  exist  without  employing  them; 
but  when  he  does  employ  them  they  are  the  pest  of  his  life. 
He  is  ever  contriving  how  to  do  without  them,  whilst  they 
always  succeed  in  attaching  themselves  to  him  in  larger  num- 
bers than  he  can  well  afford,  to  leave  again  when  they  please. 
In  some  respects  he  is  like  a  man  picking  his  way  through  an 
Indian  jungle  in  the  rainy  month  of  August,  where  legions  of 
leeches  stretch  their  hungry  lengths  at  him  from  every  shrub; 
they  want  his  blood,  and  in  spite  of  his  utmost  diligence  an 
inconvenient  number  ivill  attach  themselves  and  hold  fast  until 
they  grow  plump  and  roll  off. 

Now,  perhaps  I  have  said  enough  against  them,  and  would 
do  well  to  add  a  word  in  their  favor.  Indeed,  after  all  I  have 
said,  I  begin  to  feel  a  little  sorry  for  the  poor  fellows.  They 
have  never  been  taught ;  their  sacred  books  do  not  encourage 
and  enforce  honest  industry,  as  does  our  Bible.  Then  their 
wages  are  very  small ;  it  must  be  so  when  such  multitudes  are 
struggling  for  a  bare  subsistence.  Besides,  many  of  them 
really  excel  in  the  little  things  which  they  undertake  to  do. 
The  current  saying  that  "they  know  nothing  of  gratitude"  is 
a  slander :  they  form  the  warmest  personal  attachments  to  em- 
ployers who  treat  them  kindly.  And  their  unresisting,  silent 
endurance  of  the  grossest  injuries,  and  the  politeness  of  those 
even  who  through  poverty  go  all  but  stark  naked,  are  well 
worthy  the  study  and  imitation  of  the  more  highly  favored 
people  of  other  lands. 

Industries. — Nothing,  perhaps,  will  give  us  a  better  under- 
standing of  the  human  side  of  our  field  than  to  observe  care- 
fully how  these  people  are  trying  to  secure  the  necessaries  and 
comforts  of  life,  and  how  far  they  meet  with  success.  We  can 
judge  of  the  whole  field  by  what  we  see  in  a  part  of  it,  and 
will  now  draw  our  telescope  on  a  portion  of  the  Gurdas'pur 
District.     The  total  area,  good  and  bad,  which  we  shall  take 


78  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

under  review  is  1341  square  miles,  and  its  population  of 
665,000  souls  live  in  1881  villages  and  cities.  This  whole 
population  must  of  course  draw  their  living  in  some  way  out 
of  the  land,  of  which  there  are  522.500  cultivated  acres — 
nearly  five-sixths  of  an  acre  to  each  inhabitant ;  and  each  acre 
produces  annually  from  twenty  to  twenty-five  rupees'  worth  of 
crops,  estimated  at  their  average  market  value.  A  rupee  is 
worth  about  forty  cents. 

In  making  our  survey,  we  will  group  the  people  according 
to  their  occupations.  First  of  all,  then,  we  note  that  396,200* 
of  the  people,  the  largest  group,  are  agriculturists.  These  are 
plodding  away  and  doing  the  best  they  know,  with  their  lean 
oxen  and  buffaloes,  and  with  their  most  primitive  implements, 
which  are  few  in  number  and  coarsely  made  by  the  village 
carpenters  and  blacksmiths. 

We  will  suppose  it  is  now  seed-time.  The  average  farmer 
is  not  fore-handed  enough  to  have  seed  without  borrowing  it; 
and  there  are  17,815  shop-keepers  eagerly  waiting  to  lend  him 
seed,  that  they  may  receive  it  back  at  harvest  time  with  fifty 
per  cent,  added — the  lender  generally  managing  to  extort,  one 
way  or  another,  one  hundred  per  cent,  or  more.  So  the  farmer 
borrows,  placing  himself  in  the  clutches  of  a  greedy  extor- 
tioner, and  after  plowing,  or  rather  scratching  the  soil  from 
a  dozen  to  a  score  of  times,  he  casts  in  the  seed.  If  the  season 
be  favorable  two  waterings  will  suffice.  In  some  localities  he 
draws  the  water  from  a  canal,  and  pays  yearly  to  Government 
for  it  an  average  of  about  five  rupees  per  acre.  In  other  places 
he  draws  water  from  wells;  four  days'  work  of  a  yoke  of  oxen 
and  two  or  three  men  are  necessary  to  raise  enough  for  one 
watering  to  a  single  acre.  As  the  crops  grow  up,  every  ves- 
tige of  weeds  and  grass  is  carefully  rooted  out,  carried  home, 
cut  fine,  and  mixed  with  broken  straw  for  his  cattle. 

Harvest  time  having  arrived,  the  broad  surface  of  wheat, 
barley,  and  peas,  which  are  the  chief  grain  crops  of  the  Pan- 

*  These  and  the  following  figures  are  taken  from  the  census  of  1868  ;  women 
and  children  are  included. 


BIRD  S-EYE    VIEW    OF    THE    FIELD.  79 

jab',  is  whitening;  and  the  busiest  scene  of  the  year  is  before 
us.  The  farmers  call  in  to  their  aid  the  26,348  day  laborers 
of  the  district,  with  every  other  available  man,  woman  and  boy. 
These  are  all  eager  for  work ;  because  the  sheaf  of  grain  which 
they  will  carry  home  every  second  evening  is  worth  three  or 
four  times  as  much  as  they  could  earn  at  any  other  season. 
The  whole  plain  now  seems  alive  with  busy  reapers,  eight  of 
whom  can  reap  down  one  acre  in  a  day  with  their  sickles, 
which  are  scarcely  larger  than  a  table-knife.  Heads  and  butts 
are  laid  promiscuously,  and  tied  in  huge  sheaves,  each  sheaf 
being  as  heavy  as  a  man  can  carry  after  two  others  lift  it  on 
his  head;  at  sunset  these  sheaves  all  seem  to  be  walking  to- 
ward smooth  places  prepared  in  the  open  plain  and  called 
threshing  floors,  where  they  are  ranked  up  like  cord-wood; 
and  swarms  of  hungry  gleaners  are  busy  picking  up  the  stray 
heads. 

Harvest  being  past,  and  threshing  time  having  come,  the 
muzzled  oxen  slowly  tread  out  the  grain.  When  the  wind 
chances  to  blow,  it  is  winnowed.  The  chaff,  and  the  crisp 
straw,  broken  up  very  short  by  patient  treading,  are  stored  for 
feed ;  and  the  clean  grain  lies  in  heaps  on  the  open  threshing 
floors.  All  through  this  tedious  process  of  many  weeks  the 
farmer  guards  with  untiring  watchfulness  the  fruits  of  his  toil, 
lest  dishonesty  should  take  it  from  him ;  and  if  a  drenching 
rain  meanwhile  gives  it  a  ruinous  soaking,  he  can't  help  that. 
It  is  hisfate,  and  could  not  have  been  avoided;  for  it  is  not 
the  custom  to  use  fanning  mills  and  covered  threshing  floors, 
or  even  to  put  the  grain  up  in  small  sheaves  with  the  heads 
all  one  way,  so  as  to  be  set  up  in  shocks. 

The  farmer  now  looks  at  his  heap  of  clean  grain  with  a  de- 
gree of  satisfaction,  but  cannot  take  it  to  his  garner  yet.  As 
already  remarked,  each  one  of  the  hired  harvesters  had  carried 
away  his  wages  every  second  evening  in  one  of  those  large 
sheaves ;  but  there  are  others  who  now  come  in  for  some  of 
the  clean  grain.  The  1,112  carpenters,  1,333  blacksmiths,  and 
1,202  potters,  whose  main  work  it  has  been  to  make  and   re- 


80  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

pair  the  farmer's  implements,  claim  from  the  heap  enough 
grain  to  supply  them  with  bread  until  another  harvest.  Next 
come  the  7,846  barbers,  4,876  washermen,  4,562  sweepers, 
6,439  shoemakers,  3,337  village  watchmen,  and  18,445  water- 
carriers — every  one  having  a  just  claim  to  more  or  less  grain, 
according  to  what  he  has  done  for  the  farmer  since  the  last 
harvest.  After  these  again  3,019  musicians  claim  something 
for  officiating  at  marriages,  births,  and  funerals ;  and  last,  but 
not  least,  13,265  priests  demand  their  portions. 

Once  more,  the  farmers  are  reminded  that  their  land  belongs 
not  to  themselves,  but  to  the  British  Government ;  they  are 
only  renters,  and  must  pay  one  or  two  rupees  per  acre  of  land 
rent.  The  mere  matter  of  paying  rent  is  nothing  in  itself,  for 
they  have  been  used  to  this  from  time  immemorial ;  nor  do 
they  regard  the  amount  as  great,  if  they  could  only  pay  it  from 
the  threshing  floor  in  grain,  according  to  the  custom  of  native 
kings  in  past  ages.  But,  no,  those  Rs.  834,000  must  come 
into  the  Government  Treasury,  and  must  come  in  the  form  of 
hard  cash;  but  as  farmers  seldom  have  this  ready,  they  must 
either  borrow,  or  submit  to  forced  sale  of  their  wheat  at  a  low 
price.  In  either  case,  there  are  5,816  money-lenders  in  the 
district  ready  for  business,  who  will  buy  the  best  wheat  at  half 
price,  or  lend  money  for  three  or  four  months — the  time  that 
elapses  between  tax-paying  and  the  next  harvest — at  from  50 
to  100  per  cent,  interest  and  upwards.  Under  this  system,  the 
broad  and  beautiful  fields  of  wheat  give  but  little  cheer  to  the 
average  farmer.  They  are  not  for  him.  The  seed-lender, 
money-lender,  who  is  also  a  grain-hoarder,  and  unscrupulous 
and  unmerciful  rent-collector,  often  take  the  last  of  his  wheat, 
and  leave  him  and  his  family  to  subsist  on  coarser  grains  and 
truck. 

If  the  farmer  is  under  the  necessity  of  borrowing  grain  for 
food  a  few  months  before  harvest,  he  is  accommodated  at  sim- 
ilar rates  of  interest,  receiving,  however,  only  coarse  grain,  and 
paying  back  wheat.  If  he  needs  money  for  marriages  or  reli- 
gious feasts,  he  borrows  heavily,  for  he  must   do   homage  to 


bird's-eye  view  of  the  field,  8 1 

time-honored  customs.  If  his  ox  dies,  or  sickness  overtakes 
him,  he  must  again  borrow.  In  one  or  other  of  these  ways  he 
is  generally  in  debt,  and  often  hopelessly  so.  Most  emphati- 
cally is  it  true  here  that  "  the  borrower  is  servant  to  the 
lender." 

These  rich  money-lenders  and  grain-hoarders  are  accus- 
tomed to  buy  up  vast  quantities  of  grain  when  it  is  cheap,  and 
to  store  it  in  deep  pits  under  ground  until  a  year  of  famine. 
They  pray  for  famine.  Sometimes  they  make  cakes  of  human 
excrement,  and  offer  them  up  as  an  insult  to  heaven  to  pre- 
vent rain.  When  famine  comes,  and  this  grain  is  exhumed 
and  exposed  for  sale,  it  is  black,  and  gives  out  a  most  sicken- 
ing smell,  and  the  poor  starving  masses  pay  four  or  five  prices 
for  the  loathesome  stuff.  Can  we  wonder  that  famines  are 
followed  by  pestilence  ? 

When  a  man  begins  to  borrow  from  these  lenders  and 
hoarders,  they  contrive  to  keep  him  in  their  debt  as  long  as 
they  see  money  in  him.  If  they  find  that  he  is  in  a  condition 
to  pay  up  in  full,  they  avoid  him  until  he  is  so  reduced  that 
he  can  pay  them  only  in  part.  When  they  see  the  balance  of 
his  debt  growing  small,  they  use  flatteries,  telling  him  that  his 
credit  is  good ;  and  so  they  encourage  him  to  borrow  more. 
If  he  cannot  read,  as  is  usually  the  case,  they  secure  his 
"  mark "  to  writings  on  stamped  paper,  in  the  presence  of 
hired  witnesses.  In  this  way  they  obtain  his  note  for  more 
than  he  is  aware,  cheat  him  out  of  the  amount  he  has  already 
paid,  and  wrong  him  in  various  other  ways. 

The  extortionate,  shameless,  merciless  and  impious  money- 
lender and  grain-hoarder  of  India,  is  a  character  which  I  hate 
with  a  perfect  hatred. 

As  we  look  down  upon  these  poor  people,  and  single  out 
other  groups  not  so  closely  connected  with  farming,  we  are 
distressed  by  observing  how  very  few  of  these  665,000  people 
are  living  on  means  which  they  have  saved  in  early  life.  There 
are  only  1,021  free-holders  who  have  in  some  way  come  to 
enjoy  a  piece  of  land  without  paying  rent  to  the  Government ; 


82  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

to  these  we  may  add  194  Government  pensioners,  40  persons 
who  live  on  private  means,  and  34  house-proprietors — making 
a  total  of  only  1,289  °^  ^^'^  comfortably  retired  class.  How 
painfully  does  this  small  number  contrast  with  21,630  beggars! 
The  people  believe  that  raising  a  family  and  working  to  sup- 
port them  is  contrary  to  religion,  and  that  they  can  be  religious 
only  by  becoming  medicants.  This  superstition  degrades  in- 
dustry, and  multiplies  beggars. 

You  will  please  to  note  that  nearly  all  the  women  you  see 
abroad  have  their  ears,  arms,  necks,  noses,  fingers,  ankles  and 
toes  loaded  with  silver  ornaments ;  and  if  you  look  down  at 
the  women  of  wealthy  families,  who  can  be  seen  in  the  roof- 
less courts  of  their  houses,  you  will  notice  gold,  pearls,  and 
precious  stones  instead  of  silver.  This  is  their  manner  of  lay- 
ing up  the  family  savings  for  a  time  of  need.  The  Govern- 
ment has  recently  established  savings  banks  which  give  3^ 
per  cent  interest  on  small  deposits ;  but  the  old  custom  still 
prevails  largely.  They  give  3  per  cent  to  a  goldsmith  or 
silversmith  to  make  their  coins  into  ornaments — affording  him 
at  the  same  time  the  opportunity  of  alloying  their  precious 
metals;  and  when  these  ornaments  are  worn  lighter,  and  a 
time  of  need  comes,  they  are  sold  back  to  him  at  a  loss  of  25 
per  cent.  It  is  no  wonder,  therefore,  that  there  should  be  as 
many  as  3,776  goldsmiths,  silversmiths  and  jewelers  in  this 
profitable  business;  yet  not  one  of  them  can  make  or  mend  a 
,  time-piece. 

In  contrast  with  all  this,  those  classes  of  workmen  who  can 
turn  the  crude  materials  of  the  earth  into  comfortable  homes, 
although  of  vastly  greater  importance,  are  comparatively 
trifling  in  number — there  being  only  995  masons  and  brick- 
layers, 445  lime-burners,  239  painters,  131  glass-makers,  384 
contractors,  661  carriers,  and  1,243  coolies.  Small  as  these 
numbers  are,  the  most  of  them  are  employed,  not  in  build- 
ing houses  for  the  people,  but  in  constructing  buildings, 
bridges,  roads  and  canals  for  the  Government ;  whilst  almost 
[the  entire  native  population  live  in  rude  houses,  built  of  sun- 


bird's-eye  view  of  the  field.  83 

dried  clay,  with  flat  roofs,  and  without  any  skilled  workman- 
ship. 

In  another  direction  we  see  23  printers,  46  book-binders,  and 
38  book-sellers;  but  no  paper-makers. 

Again  we  see  3,169  cotton-cleaners,  42,926  weavers,  and 
2,495  dyers  and  calico-printers.  The  people  are  fond  of  gay 
colors;  but  as  very  few  garments  are  cut  and  sewed,  only  901 
tailors  are  required,  and  no  hatters  or  milliners.  The  coarse 
woolen  blanket,  which  is  a  necessity  for  even  the  poorest,  gives 
work  to  2,401  woolen  manufacturers. 

Bread  being  baked  in  thin  cakes  from  day  to  day  in  almost 
every  house,  we  are  not  surprised  to  find  only  116  bakers 
but  the  people  are  fond  of  sweetmeats,  and  make  a  profitable 
business  for  482  confectioners. 

There  are  6,163  dealers  in  grain  and  flour;  and  though  most 
of  the  grinding  is  done  by  women  at  home,  yet  on  the  canals, 
and  on  small  streams  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  there  are  many 
small  grist-mills,  capable  of  grinding  three  or  four  bushels  per 
day,  which  give  employment  to  2,374  millers. 

Again  we  see  76  selling  wine  and  spirits,  340  selling  tobacco, 
and  132  more  making  and  dealing  in  huk'kas  (pipes);  whilst 
the  grocers  number  only  140.  In  the  line  of  luxury  and  pleas- 
ure we  may  place  54  scent  and  perfume  makers,  81  bards,  and 
349  dancing  girls  and  athletes. 

In  the  medical  line  we  find  903  medical  men  and  women 
and  midwives,  and  two  hundred  and  seven  chemists  and 
makers  and  sellers  of  drugs. 

Of  those  who  provide  family  stores,  41  charcoal  burners  and 
sellers  might  head  the  list  if  charcoal  were  not  mostly  con- 
sumed by  blacksmiths ;  but  the  following  will  come  under  this 
head:  48  poulterers,  69  wood-sellers,  3  copper  and  brass  pan- 
sellers.  To  coat  these  pans  once  a  month  with  tin  requires  94 
tinners,  not  one  of  whom  can  make  or  mend  a  tin-cup  without 
botching  it.  Then  follow  96  wood-turners,  41  workers  in  lac, 
346  fish  mongers,  504  milkmen,  586  mat-makers  and  workers 
in  cane,  573  hucksters  and  florists,  665  butchers,  957  rope  and 
string-makers,  1,465  salt-merchants,  and  4,886  oil-makers. 


84  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

About  the  courts  of  justice  we  observe  46  venders  of  Gov- 
ernment stamps  and  stamped  paper,  50  attorneys,  and  70  deed 
and  petition  writers;  and  in  another  public  department,  1,365 
policemen,  1,610  soldiers,  and  6,855  village  officers. 

The  pait'dits  and  school-masters  amount  to  1,323.  And  we 
may  close  the  list  with  a  miscellaneous  lot:  71  agents,  264 
brokers,  854  inn-keepers,  1,156  travellers,  1,441  servants,  1,211 
boatmen,  13,350  "letters-out"  of  conveyances  and  animals,  932 
tanners  and  leather  dealers,  867  saddlers,  537  thread-spinners 
and  sellers,  125  embroiderers,  115  saltpetre  manufacturers, 
and  4,624  others. 

The  Landscape. —  Dear  reader :  Before  we  descend  from 
Kun  Nun,  let  us  turn  our  eyes  away  from  these  scenes  of  toil, 
oppression  and  poverty,  to  linger  for  a  moment  on  the  exqui- 
site landscape  spread  out  before  and  below  us.  Here  we  be- 
hold broad  plains,  lofty  mountain  peaks,  rich  valleys  and  table 
lands — purling  brooks,  foaming  torrents,  and  noble  rivers — 
cultivated  fields,  sandy  wastes,  and  pasture  lands — flocks  and 
herds — tens  of  thousands  of  cities,  towns  and  villages — long 
lines  of  patient  camels  bearing  merchandise  from  city  to  city 
— droves  of  asses,  ponies,  mules  and  cattle  creeping  under  their 
heavy  burdens,  and  strings  of  heavy-laden  country  ox-carts 
moping  along  the  principal  roads.  The  varied  lights  and 
shades  of  the  picture,  the  endless  varieties  of  purple,  scarlet, 
yellow,  brown,  grey  and  green,  blending  in  beautiful  floral 
tints,  utterly  defy  all  attempts  at  description ;  and  as  the  sea- 
sons come  and  go,  the  magnificent  panorama  which  moves 
before  us  surpasses  the  brightest  dreams  of  the  master  artist. 

What  is  to  be  done?  Who  will  come  to  the  relief  of  these 
poor  people  ?  Who  will  free  the  oppressed,  enlighten  the 
ignorant,  lift  the  masses  from  their  degradation,  and  make 
them  as  good,  great  and  happy  as  they  are  now  bad,  wretched 
and  miserable,  and  poor  and  blind  and  naked  ? 

Will  a  good  government  do  all  this?  It  is  true  that  a  bad 
government  is  better  than  none,  and  a  good  government 
better  than  a  bad  one;   therefore,  from  the  British  govern- 


bird's-eye  view  of  the  field.  85 

ment,  one  of  the  best  in  the  world,  we  have  reason  to  expect 
as  good  results  as  can  be  reached  by  a  "kingdom  of  this 
world."  But  no  such  government  can  ever  change  man's 
heart.  On  the  contrary,  the  flood  of  evils  which  proceed  from 
this  corrupt  fountain  change  the  government  itself,  so  that 
even  its  streams  of  beneficence,  intended  for  the  poor  and 
needy,  are  swallowed  up  in  the  gulf  of  selfishness. 

What  then  ? — Can  secular  education  do  it  ?  This  is  doing 
something  for  their  enlightenment  and  elevation  in  a  certain 
way ;  and  many  believe  that  the  education  now  extensively 
imparted  to  the  masses  in  Government  and  Missionary  Insti- 
tutions is  quite  sufficient  to  redeem  and  regenerate  India.  But 
neither  does  this  change  man's  heart.  Education  increases  the 
volume  of  the  stream,  but  never  turns  it  from  its  inward  course 
to  flow  outward  for  the  benefit  of  the  perishing.  Positive  evils, 
too,  are  springing  up  in  its  path,  especially  when  divorced,  as 
it  is  in  Government  institutions,  from  all  moral  and  religious 
training.  It  has  already  produced  a  class  of  proud,  ambitious, 
discontented  men,  who  vaunt  their  half-English  speech  and 
dress,  and  who  having  left  their  former  superstitions,  openly 
avow  their  infidelity  and  atheism. 

What  next  ?  Shall  we  look  to  modern  civilization  ?  This, 
too,  has  its  good  effects;  the  railroad,  for  example,  which  has 
already  entered  the  Panjab'  from  the  southeast,  is  relieving  the 
beast  of  burden,  shortening  the  way  for  weary  pedestrians, 
equalizing  prices,  relieving  famine-stricken  districts,  teaching 
punctuality  and  breaking  up  caste.  But  with  the  railway  train 
there  comes  also  a  train  of  evils ;  for  it  affords  as  great  facili- 
ties for-evil-doers  as  for  well-doers. 

And  what  then  ?  Shall  we  find  a  sovereign  remedy  in  the 
Gospel  ?  Selfish  Christians  say.  It  is  an  expensive  undertak- 
ing to  carry  the  Gospel  to  these  ignorant  masses ;  lazy  Chris- 
tians call  it  a  discouraging  undertaking ;  the  world  positively 
declares  that  it  is  foolishness ;  kings  and  rulers  of  the  earth 
set  themselves  against  it.  But  he  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens — 
he  who  has  proclaimed  his  well-beloved  Son  to  be  King  for- 


86  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

ever,  shall  have  all  opposers  in  derision.  He  loves  his  Son, 
and  has  given  all  things  into  his  hand — the  gold  and  silver — 
the  cattle  upon  these  thousand  hills — these  heathen  nations, 
and  this  utmost  part  of  the  earth ;  and  he  bids  him,  "  Gird  on 
thy  sword " — "  In  thy  majesty  ride  prosperously  because  of 
truth  and  meekness  and  righteousnesss."  Yes,  our  King  Jesus 
is  even  now  riding  forth,  clothed  with  a  vesture  dipped  in 
blood.  On  his  vesture  and  on  his  thigh  he  has  a  name 
written :  "  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords."  Behold  he 
Cometh  forth,  conquering  and  to  conquer.  He  comes  to  de- 
stroy the  works  of  the  Devil — to  cast  out  and  cast  down  the 
great  dragon,  that  old  serpent  called  the  Devil,  and  Satan 
which  deceiveth  the  whole  world.  He  is  asserting  his  do- 
minion from  sea  to  sea  and  from  the  river  to  the  ends  of  the 
earth.  All  kings  shall  fall  down  before  him.  He  holds  the 
seven  stars  in  his  right  hand,  and  he  it  is  who  has  said  to  us, 
"  Go,  teach  all  nations,"  and  "  Lo  I  am  with  you,"  and  who 
has  pledged  "  all  power  in  heaven  and  in  earth  "  for  our  suc- 
cess.    Can  we  fail  ? 

In  the  name  of  our  God  we  will  set  up  our  banners.  We 
will  preach  glad  tidings  to  the  poor.  We  will  overcome  the 
deceiver  of  the  world  by  the  blood  of  the  Lamb  and  the  word 
of  our  testimony. 

O  thou  land  of  rivers  and  deserts  parched  and  famished, 
overflowed  and  drowned,  blackened  with  deadly  pestilence, 
and  drenched  in  blood,  our  God  has  a  blessing  for  thee.  The 
breezes  and  showers  and  dews  of  heaven  shall  yet  be  given  to 
thee  without  their  curse.  Thy  inhabitants  shall  fear  him,  and 
thou  shalt  yield  thy  increase. 

Ye  millions  of  poor,  trembling  under  your  burdens  and 
stooping  to  your  tasks,  with  eyes  set  downward — ye  hungry, 
naked,  wretched  and  miserable  sons  and  daughters  of  toil,  who 
endure  wrong  and  remain  dumb  from  the  fear  of  extortionate 
oppressors,  it  shall  not  always  be  so  ;  for  our  King  "  knows 
your  sorrows,"  and  has  sent  us  to  you  with  glad  tidings.  He 
is  the  Son  of  God,     He  lives  and  is  in  Heaven.     He  was  once 


bird's-eye  view  of  the  field.  87 

as  poor  and  oppressed  and  dumb  as  you,  and  suffered  death 
for  you.  He  can  be  touched  with  the  feeling  of  your  infirmi- 
ties. He  will  break  the  arms  of  them  that  wrong  you,  and 
will  deliver  you.  He  will  lift  you  from  the  dung-hill  and  set 
you  with  princes. 

O  ye  greedy  extortioners,  who  hoard  corn  and  refuse  to 
sell,  who  hire  witnesses  and  devour  the  needy,  who  slay  the 
widow  and  kill  the  fatherless  for  gain  and  say,  The  Lord 
will  never  see  it — your  way  shall  be  turned  upside  down; 
for 

"  His  eyes  do  see,  his  eye-lids  try 
Men's  sons." 

"  Arise,  O  Lord !  Thou  hast  seen  it.  Thou  art  the  helper 
of  the  fatherless.     Break  thou  the  arms  of  the  wicked  !  " 

O  ye  proud  Moslems,  ye  shall  humbly  bow  the  knee  to  the 
Son  of  God,  and  own  him  greater  than  your  dead  false 
prophet. 

Ye  blind  pagan  hosts,  your  idols  on  which  ye  fondly  dote 
shall  go  to  the  moles  and  to  the  bats ;  and  your  temple  walls 
shall  echo  the  praises  of  the  living  God  ;  for  "  the  people  shall 
praise  himy 

Ye  rulers  and  judges — soon,  the  iron,  the  clay,  the  brass, 
the  silver  and  the  gold,  smitten  by  a  stone  cut  out  without 
hands,  shall  be  broken  to  pieces  and  become  like  chaff;  the 
wind  shall  carry  them  away  and  no  place  shall  be  found  for 
them.  The  Lord  will  govern  these  nations  and  judge  these 
people  righteously;  and  they  "shall  be  glad  and  sing  for 
joy." 

"  Sing  a  new  song  to  Jehovah, 

For  the  wonders  He  hath  wrought; 
His  right  hand  and  arm  most  holy, 
Victory  to  Him  have  brought. 

"  Lo,  Jehovah  His  salvation 

Hath  to  all  the  world  made  known; 
In  the  sight  of  every  nation 

He  His  righteousness  hath  shown. 


88  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

"  Sound  the  trumpet  and  the  comet, 
Shout  before  the  Lord  the  King ; 
Sea,  and  all  its  fullness  thunder ; 
Earth,  and  all  its  people  sing. 

"  Let  the  rivers  in  their  gladness 

Clap  their  hands  with  one  accord  ; 
Let  the  mountains  sing  together 
And  rejoice  before  the  Lord." 


CHAPTER  VI. 

BUILDING  OUR  FIRST  MISSION    HOME.* 

SALARIES  AND  EXPENSES — "ALLOWANCES"  AN  ECONOMICAL  DEVICE — 
DESCRIPTION  OF  HOUSES  USED  BY  EUROPEANS  AND  MISSIONARIES  IN 
THE  PANJAB^ — TRICKS  OF  NATIVE  BUILDERS — AMUSING  INCIDENTS  OF 
BUILDING — OUR  FIRST  MISSION-HOUSE  COMPLETED. 

AFTER  Sial'kot  had  been  settled  upon  as  our  headquarters, 
and  ground  had  been  secured  for  mission  premises,  the 
building  of  a  dwelling  house  demanded  our  attention.  The 
house  was  to  be  mission  property  according  to  a  common  cus- 
tom in  foreign  fields,  and,  I  may  add,  according  to  the  grow- 
ing custom  at  home  of  providing  parsonages.  The  stay  of  a 
missionary  in  an  India  climate  is,  as  a  rule,  too  uncertain  to 
admit  of  his  buying  or  building  for  himself  as  he  might  do  in 
his  own  country,  whilst  the  work  itself  is  permanent  whether 
he  remain  or  not.  The  exigencies  of  the  work,  too,  require 
him  very  often  to  shift  from  place  to  place  in  the  field,  and  he 
must  build  to  suit  any  family  that  may  come  in  his  stead. 
The  salary  (then  Rs.  1,620  a  year  for  a  married  missionary), 
was  not  sufficient,  and  was  not  intended,  to  enable  him  to 
build  a  house  at  private  expense.  The  earliest  missionaries  in 
North  India  made  a  careful  estimate  of  the  actual  cost  of  liv- 
ing, and  the  amount  named  above  was  fixed  upon  by  them  as 
the  smallest  salary  that  would  support  a  missionary  and  his  wife ; 
but  the  buying,  building  or  renting  of  a  house  was  not  in- 
cluded in  that  salary,  else  it  must  have  been  larger.  The  same 
is  true  of  some  other  items  of  expense  which  were  not,  like 
the  matter  of  living,  uniformly  necessary  for  every  missionary 
at  all  times;  these  were  left  to  be  met  by  the  church  at  home, 
only  tvhen  the  expenditure  actually  occurred. 

*  That  long  expected  remittance  came  to  hand  in  November,  1855. 

(89) 


90  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

This  arrangement  was  designed  to  economize  mission  funds ; 
for  it  is  evident  that  if  a  certain  expenditure  is  necessary  for 
one  missionary  and  not  for  another,  there  must  be  a  saving  of 
the  funds  in  providing  for  it  only  when  and  where  it  is  neces- 
sary. For  example,  English  doctors  are  generally  kind  to 
mission  families,  and  charge  nothing  for  professional  services, 
whilst  exceptional  ones  demand  their  fees ;  but  fees  large 
enough  to  be  offered  to  doctors,  whose  salaries  are  from  ten 
to  twenty  thousand  rupees  a  year,  would  require  us  to  have 
larger  salaries  if  provided  for  in  them.  So  also  one  mission- 
ary does  station  work,  whilst  another  must  travel  about  the 
country;  the  one  needs  no  traveling  allowance,  but  the  other 
needs  it  when  he  travels.  This  economical  arrangement  was 
even  extended  to  the  support  of  children;  the  salary  was  fixed 
at  what  was  deemed  only  sufficient  for  a  man  and  his  wife, 
and  each  child  was  provided  for  by  an  addition  of  about  ten 
per  cent.  If  there  were  no  little  one  in  the  family,  this  ten  per 
cent,  was  saved.  This  whole  arrangement  burdened  the  mis- 
sionary by  multiplying  small  accounts,  but  it  saved  the  mission 
funds. 

These  so-called  allowances  have  been  regarded  by  some  as 
a  device  for  increasing  salaries ;  but  this  is  a  great  mistake. 
Much  has  been  said  in  favor  of  Foreign  Boards  abolishing 
them  and  giving  a  "lump  salary"  sufficient  to  meet  all 
expenses.  This  would  certainly  relieve  the  missionaries  from 
much  care  and  worry  over  details,  by  bringing  them  within  his 
domestic  arrangements  instead  of  bringing  them  unpleasantly 
before  the  annual  meetings;  and  I  believe  no  missionary  would 
raise  any  but  one  serious  objection,  viz.:  that  the  lumping  of 
such  expenditures  with  salaries  would  either  increase  the 
expense  of  missions  to  the  churches,  or  necessitate  the  fixing 
of  salaries  so  low  that  some  would  be  oppressed — especially 
such  as  have  large  families  or  have  much  traveling  to  do. 

Returning  now  to  our  subject,  building,  I  will  first  briefly 
describe  the  kind  of  houses  occupied  by  Europeans  in  our  part 
of  India.     Since  not  only  the  walls,  but  the  partitions  also  are 


BUILDING    OUR    FIRST    MISSION    HOME.  9 1 

built  of  brick,  the  first  operation  is  to  map  out  the  rooms  on 
the  ground,  and  dig  a  ditch  about  two  feet  deep  in  which  to 
lay  the  foundation  of  every  wall  and  every  partition.  Dwell- 
ings usually  have  from  three  to  seven  main  rooms.  These 
vary  in  size  from  14x18  feet,  to  20x30,  and  vary  in  height  from 
16  feet  to  28,  according  to  the  means  at  the  builder's  command. 
The  larger  and  higher  a  room  is,  the  cooler  and  healthier  it  is; 
the  hot  winds,  in  certain  months,  require  closed  doors,  and 
forbid  the  admission  of  a  supply  of  fresh  air  during  the  whole 
day;  these  winds  occasionally  continue  through  the  night  as 
well  as  the  day. 

The  walls  are  generally  made  at  least  two  feet  thick,  because 
the  bricks  are  rough,  the  masons  careless,  and  earthquakes 
frequent.  Experience  condemns  all  cellars  and  underground 
rooms  as  damp  dens  for  vermin.  When  the  walls  are  two  or 
three  feet  above  ground,  the  spaces  marked  off  for  rooms  are 
filled  to  this  height  with  well-rammed  clay.  A  layer  of  bricks 
is  spread  over  this  bed  of  compact  clay.  Upon  these  bricks  is 
spread  an  inch  of  concrete  made  of  the  siftings  of  lime  and 
brick-dust,  crushed  bricks  being  used  in  mortar  instead  of  sand. 
This  concrete  is  then  sprinkled  and  hammered  until  it  be- 
comes a  solid  mass;  and  on  this  a  thin  coat  of  fine  plaster  is 
spread  to  complete  the  floor. 

Before  going  higher  with  our  walls  we  must  set  up  the  door 
frames.  These  are  of  the  simplest  construction,  made  of  4x5 
inch  scantlings,  morticed  to^jether  at  the  four  corners,  and 
rabbitted  a  little  where  the  doors  are  to  be  hinged  on.  The 
frames  make  doorways  four  feet  wide  by  seven  or  eight  high 
— this  large  size  being  necessary  to  secure  thorough  and  speedy 
ventilation.  The  doors  are  two-leaved,  and  made  \Vith  glass  in 
the  upper-half  to  admit  light ;  very  few  windows  are  used. 
Heavy  rolling  blinds  are  generally  added  to  the  doors  to  admit 
air  and  exclude  animals  by  night,  and  to  break  the  glare  by 
day.  The  carpenter  work,  painting  and  glazing  are,  to  our 
eyes,  painfully  rough  ;  and  the  hinges  and  latches  are  even 
more  so,  being  sometimes  manufactured  by  native  blacksmiths. 


g2  OUR    INDIA   MISSION. 

The  doors  are  almost  the  only  woodwork  until  we  begin  the 
roof. 

After  carrying  the  walls  up  to  the  height  of  the  rooms,  three 
or  four  heavy  beams  are  laid  horizontally  from  wall  to  wall 
over  each  room ;  across  these  beams  three-inch  scantlings  are 
arranged  twelve  inches  apart ;  a  pavement  of  square-bricks  is 
laid  upon  the  scantlings ;  one  or  two  inches  of  concrete  and  a 
coat  of  fine  plaster  are  spread  over  the  brick  pavement,  as  was 
done  in  making  the  floor;  and  to  this  four  inches  of  clay  are 
added,  mainly  for  the  sake  of  coolness.  As  this  clay  covering 
would  crack,  it  must  be  coated  with  plaster  made  by  mixing 
fine  clay  with  cut  straw  and  allowing  it  to  ferment  a  few  days 
before  using.  And  finally,  a  thin  paste  made  of  water  and 
stable  manure,  is  spread  over  this.  The  beams,  scantlings, 
and  bricks  of  the  ceiling  of  the  rooms  remain  exposed,  not  be- 
ing lathed  and  plastered. 

Next  in  order,  the  outer  walls  of  the  house  are  built  up  two 
feet  higher  than  the  flat-roof  just  described,  and  one  or  two 
courses  of  bricks  are  set  out  three  inches  to  form  a  cornice,  a 
little  before  the  last  course  is  reached.  It  is  customary  to 
cover  the  rough  brick  walls  on  the  outside  of  the  house  with 
a  coat  of  white  plaster,  which  makes  the  house  a  little  cooler, 
and  the  walls  stronger.  Two  or  three  feet  below  the  roof  it  is 
usual,  for  the  sake  of  light  and  ventilation,  to  insert  in  the  outer 
walls  very  small  windows,  which  are  opened  and  closed  by 
means  of  long  cords.     A  second  story  is  very  rarely  added. 

Instead  of  a  flat-roof,  as  just  described,  the  roof  is  sometimes 
made  sloping,  and  covered  with  tiles  or  thatched  with  long 
grass.  The  latter  is  cool  and  cheap,  but  liable  to  burn,  and 
requires  much  repairing  and  frequent  renewing,  whilst  the 
former  is  hot ;  hence  flat-roofs  are  generally  preferred. 

We  have  now  described  the  mai?i  rooms.  Outside  of  these 
there  is  usually  a  veranda  about  ten  feet  wide  on  every  side 
of  the  house,  with  a  flat-roof  like  the  main  one,  but  not  so 
high  by  six  or  eight  feet.  The  outer  edge  of  this  veranda- 
roof  is  supported   by  a  row  of  brick  pillars,  with  brick  arches 


BUILDING    OUR    FIRST    MISSION    HOME.  93 

spanning  from  pillar  to  pillar.  On  some  sides  of  the  house, 
especially  towards  the  sun,  walls  are  substituted  for  the  rows 
of  pillars,  thus  converting  one  or  more  of  the  verandas  into 
rooms,  which  present  a  more  effectual  barrier  to  the  heat  of 
the  sun;  these  are  turned  to  use  for  store-rooms  and  bath- 
rooms; but  are  too  hot  most  of  the  year  for  ordinary  use.  The 
north  veranda  is  generally  left  open. 

These  houses,  although  large  and  somewhat  imposing  in 
general  appearance,  are  as  destitute  of  ornament  and  fine  finish 
as  the  strictest  Quaker  could  well  desire.  To  break  the  mo- 
notony of  long  straight  lines,  the  front  wall  of  one  of  the  rooms 
— the  middle-room  if  there  be  three  in  a  row — is  made  to  pro- 
ject outwards  in  the  form  of  a  bow;  some  rough  attempts  at 
cornice  work  are  made  around  the  wall  inside  of  the  main- 
rooms  just  below  the  roof;  and  a  rude  attempt  at  moulding  is 
made  of  plaster  around  the  doorways  on  the  inside  of  the  best 
room.  The  mason,  too,  would  feel  dissatisfied  if  he  were  not 
allowed  to  put  one  or  two  rupees  worth  of  fancy  work  about 
the  mantel-shelf  and  fire-place.  Beyond  a  few  such  cheap  and 
rough  embellishments  it  is  unusual  to  make  any  effort  in  this 
line.  The  great  object  aimed  at  is  to  make  a  comfortable 
shelter  from  the  heat,  and  to  make  this  as  secure  as  possible 
from  the  destructive  effects  of  the  elements,  and  from  the  rav- 
ages of  the  white  ants. 

A  wall  made  of  burnt  bricks  laid  in  mortar  costs  at  least 
five  times  as  much  as  one  made  of  sun-dried  bricks.  But  the 
latter  will  not  stand  water ;  and  white  ants  readily  make  roads 
and  nests  all  through  it,  coming  out  in  numerous  places,  and 
spreading  a  film  of  clay  over  portions  of  the  wall,  inside  or 
outside  of  the  house.  Concealed  under  their  clay  covering, 
they  eat  away  door-frames,  roof  timbers,  any  thing  spread 
on  the  floor  or  hung  on  the  wall,  furniture,  clothing,  leather, 
and  especially  books.  The  more  burnt  bricks  and  good  lime 
we  use  in  building  the  less  we  are  likely  to  be  troubled  by 
these  little  pests. 

With  these  rudiments  of  knowledge  in  the  art  of  building  in 


94  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

India  I  drew  plans  and  counted  the  cost.  Born  amid  lakes, 
hills  and  snowdrifts  in  eastern  New  York,  where  houses  are 
designed  to  keep  their  inmates  tvarm^  instead  of  cool,  I  was 
naturally  prejudiced  against  large  houses.  A  large  house,  too, 
implied  large  expenditure  in  building,  furnishing,  and  living; 
whereas  I  had  a  reputation  to  sustain  as  an  economist.  I  was, 
indeed  at  that  very  time,  receiving  a  practical  lesson  on  the 
necessity  of  strict  economy.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who  had 
experience  in  the  country  assured  me  that  whatever  apparent 
extravagance  there  might  be  in  a  large  house,  this  was  a  posi- 
tive necessity  in  a  hot  climate;  and  this  view  was  confirmed 
by  our  own  experience  during  our  very  first  hot  season.  The 
amount  of  mission  funds  to  be  expended  on  a  mission  dwell- 
ing was  limited  to  Rs.  4,000.  With  this  amount,  one  suffi- 
ciently large  to  be  tolerably  cool,  could  be  built  if  constructed 
largely  of  sun-dried  bricks ;  but  the  sight  of  walls,  and  even 
whole  buildings  of  this  cheap  material,  softening  and  tumbling 
during  the  past  rainy  season,  was  fresh  in  mind.  The  em- 
phatic advice  of  Rev.  J.  Caldwell,  of  Saha'ranpur  was  also  re- 
membered: "I  would  not,"  said  he,  "use  a  single  cubic  inch 
oi kach' cJid'^  work  in  building  a  house."  Then  it  was  to  be 
borne  in  mind  that  the  natives  who  were  to  furnish  materials 
and  do  the  work,  understood  the  business  of  cheating  far  bet- 
ter than  I  understood  their  language  and  their  tricks;  they 
were  numerous  on  the  one  side,  and  I  alone  on  the  other; 
and  how  much  of  the  money  expended  would  really  go  into 
the  building  was  a  problem  I  had  not  yet  solved. 

Under  the  pressure  of  all  these  conflicting  considerations, 
and  with  ail  my  close  calculating  faculties  stimulated  and  in- 
tensified, I  determined  to  erect  a  substantial  house  of  burnt 
bricks  only,  to  build  it  as  large  as  practicable,  and  as  plain  as 
possible;  and  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout,  as  no  allowance  was 
made  for  extra  expense  on  account  of  being  cheated.  The 
main  rooms,  four  in  number,  were   laid   out    i6.k20   feet  each, 

*  Masonry  constructed  of  sun-dried  clay  is  called  "  kach'chd"  work. 


BUILDING    OUR    FIRST    MISSION    HOME.  95 

and  16  feet  high  from  floor  to  roof;  the  north  and  south 
verandas  were  to  be  open — the  east  and  west  ones  to  be  made 
into  rooms,  of  which  one  was  to  be  a  study,  and  another  was 
to  be  called  "  the  stranger's  room,"  with  a  vague  hope  that 
guests  might  not  drop  in  very  often  in  hot  weather.  Two  of 
the  walls  were  to  be  24  inches  thick,  the  rest  eighteen  inches, 
except  a  number  of  partitions  which  were  to  be  only  twelve. 
Capt.  Heath  regarded  the  walls  as  too  thin,  because,  as  he 
said,  in  his  experience  native  masons  would  often  build  an  inch 
or  two  out  of  the  perpendicular;  and  if  called  to  account,  they 
would  cooly  tell  you,  ''  Palastar  se  sab  s'idJia  hojdegdl'  (plaster 
with  all  straight  will  become).  Capt.  Mill  also,  on  looking  at 
the  plan,  declared  that  the  walls  were  not  thick  enough  to 
stand,  and  prophesied  that  he  would  come  down  some  day  to 
see  them  all  tumbled  to  the  ground. 

How  many  masons,  carpenters,  sawyers,  and  carriers  of 
bricks,  mortar  and  water,  were  employed,  I  did  not  note. 
There  were  several  pairs  of  sawyers.  One  log  was  laid  across 
another  with  its  end  tilted  high  up  in  the  air;  on  the  top  of 
this,  one  of  the  sawyers  perched  himself  like  a  monkey  and 
pulled  at  one  end  of  the  saw,  whilst  his  mate  sat  on  the  ground 
below  and  pulled  at  the  other  end.  These  sawyers  were  paid 
by  the  square  yard — not  of  lumber,  but  of  actual  sawing, to 
ascertain  which,  the  log  after  being  sawed  was  set  up  again  in 
its  original  shape,  that  each  cut  which  the  saw  had  actually 
made  might  be  carefully  measured.  Carpenters  used  neither 
benches  nor  large  tools.  Sitting  on  the  ground,  and  often  us- 
ing their  toes  for  a  vice,  they  sawed  and  planed  pieces  of 
wood,  drilled  holes,  dug  mortices,  cut  tenons,  worked  out 
small  mouldings,  and  used  glue  and  sandpaper,  all  for  twelve 
cents  a  day.  Any  good  shade  answered  the  purpose  of  a 
shop;  and  at  night,  instead  of  locking  their  tools  in  a  box, 
they  put  them  in  a  canvas  bag  and  carried  them  to  their  lodg- 
ings. Groups  of  coolies  moved  slowly  about  with  loads  of 
bricks,  mortar,  earth  and  other  building  materials,  carrying 
them  on  their  heads  in  baskets  and  earthen  pans,  and  receiving 


96  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

at  the  close  of  each  day,  six  cents  for  their  labor.  The  water 
carrier  used  a  well-prepared  goatskin,  which  he  filled  by  doling 
water  in  at  the  neck  from  some  deep  well  with  a  small  leathern 
bucket.  The  skin  when  full  was  slung  across  his  back  and 
carried  whither  the  water  was  required,  his  daily  wages  being 
seven  cents.  The  scaffold  builder,  who  was  more  expert  than 
a  common  cooly  in  climbing  poles  and  tying  ropes,  received 
nine  cents.  Some  of  the  laborers  were  women  and  boys,  whose 
wages  were  a  trifle  less  than  those  of  the  men.  The  head 
carpenter  and  head  mason  received  a  little  more  than  the  other 
mechanics.  At  some  stages  of  the  work  there  were  one  hun- 
dred persons  or  more  employed,  an  incredible  number  of  those 
trifling  workmen  being  necessary  to  accomplish  any  thing  at 
all.  The  supervision,  the  daily,  weekly,  and  monthly  payments 
in  such  small  sums,  and  the  accounts,  were  tedious  and  burden- 
some, besides  consuming  very  much  precious  time. 

While  the  materials  were  being  brought  to  the  spot  and  the 
foundations  commenced,  several  fat  contractors  were  to  be  seen 
moving  meditatively  about  the  work,  figuring  up  their  profits; 
our  Muhammadan  teacher,  also  employed  to  instruct  us  in  the 
language,  was  occasionally  seen  with  them.  This  last  men- 
tioned individual,  who  received  twelve  rupees  per  month  for 
his  services,  was  both  fat  and  lazy;  and  his  snow-white  robes 
of  fine  figured  muslin,  which  were  intended  to  adorn  his  gross 
body  and  dark  pock-pitted  face,  would  have  appeared  more 
suitable  for  some  dainty  bride.  The  Mwi'slii, — for  this  is  his 
title — purposed,  according  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  to 
relieve  me  from  the  burden  of  counting  materials,  keeping 
accounts,  and  making  payments.  Between  lesson  hours  he  had 
abundance  of  spare  time,  and  it  was  quite  proper  that  he  should 
aid  me  in  this  way.  Accordingly,  a  few  rupees  were  ex- 
changed for  small  copper  coins  at  a  money  changer's  shop  in 
the  city ;  and  a  bag  of  these  coppers  was  handed  to  him  to 
distribute  among  the  laborers,  who  were  drawn  up  in  line  at  the 
close  of  the  first  day's  work.  The  Mun'sh'i,  after  paying  them 
all  off,  handed  me  back  a  pai'sd — one  of  those  copper  coins, 


BUILDING    OUR    FIRST    MISSION    HOME.  9/ 

worth  three-fourths  of  a  cent — saying  as  he  did  so,  "  Sa'hib,  one 
pai'sd  too  much  you  gave."  This  demonstration  of  his  honesty 
was  repeated,  I  observed,  several  evenings.  And,  in  order  that 
I  might  by  a  variety  of  evidence  become  perfectly  assured  of 
his  trustworthiness,  he  brought  me  a  pin  one  evening,  saying, 
as  he  handed  it  to  me,  "  Sa'hib,  this  I  found  somewhere  out 
on  your  premises,  and  I  have  brought  it  to  you,  thinking  that 
your  Honor's  child  may  have  lost  it." 

I  told  these  "pin"  and  "pai'sd"  stories  to  my  wife  and  sis- 
ter, and  asked  them  to  help  me  to  watch  him ;  whilst  he  evi- 
dently seemed  to  think  that  he  had  completely  won  my  confi- 
dence by  his  acts  of  scrupulous  honesty. 

One  evening  the  brick  contractor  came  with  a  drove  of  asses 
loaded  with  sacks  full  of  bricks.  The  Miin'shi  counted  them, 
noted  the  number  carefully  in  his  book,  and  reported  to  me 
that  there  were  7,480  bricks.  On  inspecting  the  heap  I  ex- 
pressed serious  doubts  as  to  the  correctness  of  his  figures;  but 
he  very  solemnly  and  repeatedly  declared  that  there  was  no 
mistake,  and  could  be  none  since  both  himself  and  the  con- 
tractor had  counted  the  bricks  carefully. 

"  But  I  am  very  sure,"  said  I,  "  that  there  cannot  possibly  be 
7,480  bricks  in  that  heap  ;  count  them  over  just  in  my  presence." 

The  bricks  were  then  counted  one  by  one,  and  found  to  num- 
ber only  1,450! — showing  a  discrepancy  of  6,030  between  the 
two  counts.  Our  "  honest"  Mun'slii  coolly  passed  this  matter 
off  as  an  inexplicable  mystery,  and  looked  so  thoughtful,  so 
serious,  and  so  innocent  about  it,  as  if  to  say,  "  How  very  much 
I  would  like  really  to  know  why  we  happened  to  make  such 
a  mistake!"  Henceforward  I  took  good  care  to  do  my  own 
counting  of  bricks. 

The  lime  contractors  brought  an  indefinite  quantity  of  lime, 
enough,  as  was  supposed,  to  complete  the  building.  They 
said  they  were  not  anxious  to  have  it  all  measured  and  handed 
over  to  me  at  once,  but  that  I  could  measure  it  as  I  used  it 
from  time  to  time.  This,  they  very  considerately  argued, 
would  be  to  my  advantage,  because  in  case  there  was  more 
7 


98  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

than  I  wanted,  I  would  have  to  pay  only  for  what  I  actually 
used;  and  if  any  of  it  should  be  stolen  from  the  heap,  I  would 
not  have  to  bear  the  loss.  They  were  willing,  moreover,  to 
assume  the  burden  and  expense  of  watching  it.  This  thought- 
ful regard  for  my  interest  seemed  rather  good  in  them,  and  I 
was  inclined  to  be  pleased  with  it ;  so  the  lime  began  to  go 
from  the  heap  to  the  mortar-bed,  and  the  mortar  and  bricks  to 
go  into  the  foundation  of  the  house. 

After  three  days  I  found  time  to  measure  the  work,  and 
discovered  that  far  too  much  lime — which  was  the  expensive 
material — was  being  used  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  cubic 
feet  of  mason  work ;  at  the  same  time,  it  seemed  to  me  very 
strange  that  whilst  the  Mun'sJii  and  head-mason  were  report- 
ing seventeen  boxes  of  lime  used  daily,  I  could  not  remember 
of  seeing  any  of  it  carried  from  the  heap  to  the  mortar-bed. 
I  thought  it  could  hardly  be  accidental  that  every  box  of  lime 
was  carried  from  the  heap  only  when  my  attention  was  other- 
wise engaged.  The  next  day  my  wife  patiently  sat  in  the  tent- 
door,  and  kept  a  careful  count  of  the  boxes  of  lime  used,  whilst 
I  went  about  my  business  as  usual ;  to  prevent  suspicion  she 
used  books  to  keep  tally,  and  busied  herself  with  her  needle. 
At  the  close  of  the  day  eleven  books  indicated  that  eleven 
,  boxes  of  lime  had  gone  into  the  work ;  whereas  the  Miin'sJii 
reported  seventeen,  and  the  head  workman  confirmed  his  count. 
The  following  day  my  sister,  for  a  change,  took  her  post  at 
the  tent-door  with  her  needle  and  books,  and  the  result  was 
exactly  the  same — eleven  boxes  used,  and  seventeen  reported. 
The  lime  was  worth  one  rupee  per  box,  making  a  nice  little 
perquisite  of  six  rupees  per  day  to  go  into  the  pockets  of  what 
I  may  now  style  the  "  Ring."  We  kept  our  discovery  to  our- 
:  selves,  and  said  nothing  by  which  they  could  suspect  that  we 
.  had  detected  their  dishonesty. 

Standing  beside  the  mortar-bed  early  the  next  morning,  I 

ibade  the  workmen  to  fetch  lime  enough  for  the  whole  day,  and 

mix  it  in  my  presence.     This  was  obeyed  with  evident  reluct- 

.  ance ;  after  bringing  two  or  three  boxes  they  tried  to  put  me 


BUILDING   OUR   FIRST   MISSION   HOME.  99 

off,  saying,  "  Sahib,  this  is  enough  hme  for  this  time."  But 
I  persevered,  quietly  repeating  the  order,  "  Bring  more,"  until 
eleven  boxes  were  brought  and  mixed ;  and  I  continued  to  do 
the  same  thing  regularly  every  morning.  The  Mun'shi  one 
morning,  at  a  rather  late  hour,  came  strutting  along  in  his 
white  flowing  robes.  Taking  his  stand  by  my  side  and  as- 
suming a  very  business-like  air,  he  offered  to  relieve  me ;  but 
I  paid  no  attention.  Failing  in  his  effort  thus  to  get  the 
supervision  into  his  own  hands,  he  looked  sad,  and  heaved  an 
occasional  sigh.  One  day  he  came  to  me  at  the  mortar-bed, 
and  said,  "  Sir,  I  feel  very  ill  in  these  days,  and  I  not  can  know 
the  cause  of  it."  I  said  to  myself,  "  I  know  the  cause  of  your 
illness  very  well,  and  know  a  remedy  for  it,  but  do  not  see  fit 
to  prescribe  just  yet." 

The  "  Ring"  now  changed  their  tactics,  and  requested  that 
the  lime  might  be  all  measured  and  made  over  to  me  at  once, 
to  which  I  readily  agreed.  Lime  is  sold  by  weight;  the  usual 
mode  of  ascertaining  the  weight  is  to  weigh  one  box  full  as  a 
standard,  and  then  count  the  boxes.  With  this  understanding 
they  filled  the  box  used  as  a  measure  in  my  presence,  and  were 
about  to  weigh  its  contents.  But  I  had  observed  that  in  put- 
ting the  lime  into  the  box  they  shook  it  down,  seemingly  by 
accident,  causing  the  box  to  hold  much  more  than  it  would 
otherwise  have  held,  and  I  unconcernedly  beckoned  to  them 
to  empty  it  at  the  vacant  end  of  the  lime-house.  A  second 
box,  and  a  third  one,  were  filled  in  the  same  manner;  but  I 
took  no  notice  of  their  repeated  and  urgent  proposals  to  weigh 
them,  only  noting  them  one  by  one  in  my  book.  Our 
worthies  now  inferred  that  the  weighing  would  be  postponed 
to  the  last  boxful,  and  began  to  fill  the  lime  in  very  lightly, 
making  each  box  to  contain  full  twenty  per  cent,  less  than 
the  first  one.  I  then  said,  "Now  weigh!"  Authority  is  a 
great  thing  with  these  people;  and  though  they  showed  much 
reluctance,  yet  they  yielded. 

These  wily  fellows  still  had  the  advantage,  for  I  could 
neither  watch  the  lime,  nor  place  it  under  lock  and  key ;  and 


100  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

one  night  a  big,  strong  cooly  was  seen  carrying  off  a  large 
blanket  full  on  his  head  towards  the  city.  To  accomplish  this, 
it  was  only  necessary  for  them  to  take  the  watchman  and  the 
cooly  into  their  Ring,  and  give  them  a  small  share  of  the  spoils. 

Many  other  tricks  were  practiced  of  the  same  general  char- 
acter with  those  now  related.  When  I  was  purchasing  materi- 
als, it  was  often  very  difficult  for  me  to  determine  whether  I 
was  paying  for  them  the  second  time,  or  only  the  first.  It  was 
still  more  difficult  to  get  full  work  from  the  men.  As  the 
structure  went  up  I  could  not  watch  the  workmen  on  four  sides 
of  it  at  the  same  time  and  at  all  times ;  and  even  when  they 
were  as  busy  as  ants  before  my  eyes,  it  was  impossible  to  pre- 
vent them  from  wasting  time  by  chipping  the  bricks  more  than 
necessary  before  laying  them  in  the  wall.  They  were  literally 
"  too  many  for  me." 

Whilst  we  were  thus  working  along  with  little  knowlege  of 
the  language,  making  the  most  of  our  eyes  and  wits,  and  con- 
tending earnestly  for  each  penny  spent  on  the  building,  we 
observed  one  evening  a  tent  pitched  on  the  plain  a  little  north 
of  the  mission  premises.  EUisha  P.  Swift  and  Abdul'lah 
A'thim,  Christian  catechists  from  a  neighboring  mission,  were 
out  on  a  preaching  tour,  and  had  encamped  near  us  for  the 
night.  They  were  not,  as  we  afterwards  learned,  very  decided 
about  giving  us  a  call,  and  would  probably  have  continued 
their  journey  the  next  day;  but  that  night  their  tent  was  cut 
open  by  thieves,  and  their  baggage  stolen — an  incident  which 
providentially  brought  us  together.  These  brethren  under- 
stood our  lonely  situation  amongst  heathen ;  they  could  con- 
verse with  us  readily  in  English ;  and  what  is  still  better,  they 
were  serving  our  Common  Master,  and  were  in  full  sympathy 
with  us.  It  was  as  if  angels  had  been  sent  to  visit  us;  and  we 
persuaded  them  to  tarry  with  us  one  or  two  days. 

Two  things  rendered  it  easy  to  investigate  the  doings  of  the 
"  Ring,"  and  settle  accounts  with  them  while  these  brethren 
were  with  us.  The  funds  being  again  so  low  that  it  was  neces- 
sary to  borrow  money,  I  had  taken  the  precaution  of  borrow- 


BUILDING   OUR    FIRST    MISSION    HOME.  lOI 

ing  from  the  Mun'sht  to  prevent  him  from  absconding.  Sec- 
ondly, there  were  two  rival  parties  among  the  workmen,  one 
recognizing  a  Muhammadan  and  the  other  a  Sikh  as  their  lead- 
ing man,  and  each  rival  giving  evidence  against  the  other.  It 
was  proved  in  the  investigation  that  contractors  had  advanced 
to  the  Mun'sh'i  a  bribe  of  Rs.  150  in  order  to  secure  through 
him  a  large  profit  on  the  materials,  which,  according  to  the 
custom  of  the  country,  they  expected  to  pass  through  his 
hands.  Masons,  carpenters,  sawyers,  and  especially  the  Mun'- 
slti,  were  doing  a  profitable  business  at  the  expense  of  our 
building  fund.  We  presented  our  bill  for  damages  to  our 
white-robed  gentleman,  who  paid  it  promptly  and  left  the 
place. 

This  first  house  of  our  Mission  was  six  months  in  building. 
Its  cost  exceeded  but  little  the  authorized  amount.  The  struc- 
ture has  been  found  inconveniently  substantial  by  those  who, 
in  later  years,  have  attempted  to  make  alterations.  Notwith- 
standing the  "thinness  of  its  walls"  earthquakes  have  not 
shaken  it  down,  as  was  predicted  they  would  do.  It  is  smaller 
than  some  of  our  mission-houses  built  afterwards  at  the  same 
cost,  but  less  substantially.  The  worry  and  wear  of  a  mission- 
ary in  building  is  a  far  more  important  matter  than  the  money 
expenditure.  A  young  missionary  can  whilst  engaged  in  such 
work  gain  some  knowledge  of  the  people  and  their  language, 
which  in  a  measure  compensates  for  his  wear  and  tear. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

THE    REV'dS  GEORGE  W.  SCOTT    AND  ELISHA  P.  SWIFT. 

Scott's  early  life — on  the  verge  of  starvation — serves  a  mu- 
hammadan  master — takes  bibles  into  ka^bul — arrested — re- 
CANT OR  DIE— DEBATING  FOR  LIFE — VICTORY  OVER  THE  KING'S 
LEARNED  CHAMPION — HONORS  GOD  BEFORE  THE  KING — IN  PRISON 
SICK  AND  NIGH  UNTO  DEATH  —  SHALL  WE  KILL  HIM? — ESCAPE. 
E.  P.  SWIFT  —  FIVE  BROTHERS  —  ESCAPE  FROM  GWA^LIOR — REACH 
LUDHIA^NA — TRAINED  IN  LUDHIA^NA  MISSION  ORPHANAGE — IN  MIS- 
SION WORK  —  SERVES  GOVERNMENT  —  FREQUENT  CHANGES  —  JOINS 
THE  SIAL^KOT  MISSION. 

WHEN  the  two  brethren  mentioned  in  the  preceding  chap- 
ter were  with  us,  E.  P.  Swift  related  something  of  the 
following  story  of  his  youngest  brother,  G.  W.  Scott :  There 
were  five  orphan  brothers,  the  eldest  of  whom,  along  with  his 
next  younger  brother,  joined  the  British  army,  and  went  to  the 
first  Ka'bul  war.  The  three  remaining  ones  were  taken  into 
the  Orphanage  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission  at  Ludhia'na, 
where  they  received  the  Christian  names  Daniel,  E.  P.  Swift, 
and  G.  W.  Scott — names  given  by  friends  in  America,  who 
contributed  to  the  funds  of  the  Orphanage.  This  Orphanage 
was  afterwards  removed  to  Saha'ranpur,  where  these  boys  re- 
ceived much  of  their  training  under  the  Reformed  Presbyterian 
missionaries  at  that  station. 

Young  Scott  was  naturally  courageous,  and  in  athletic 
sports  a  leader  among  his  comrades ;  but  he  was  not  inclined 
to  study,  and  sometimes  behaved  badly,  which  he  deeply  re- 
gretted in  after  life.  I  have  heard  him  speak  with  thankful- 
ness of  the  chastisements  he  received  whilst  in  the  Orphanage. 
After  leaving  that  institution  he  passed  through  some  very 
trying  experiences,  being  at  one  time  extremely  destitute.    The 

(102) 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON    SCOTT.  IO3 

turning  point  in  his  life  was  probably  the  time  when,  all  alone 
in  a  jungle,  in  danger  of  starvation,  and  believing  that  he  had 
no  friend  in  the  world,  he  cried  for  pity  to  him  who  nourished 
and  clothed  the  very  grass  upon  which  he  knelt.  He  grew 
up  to  be  an  honest  boy,  an  earnest,  humble,  and  self-sacrificing 
Christian,  and  a  reader,  writer  and  speaker  of  the  English  lan- 
guage. He  was  able  to  address  an  audience  in  pretty  good 
English  with  clearness  and  force. 

Accepting  employment  as  clerk  under  Na'b'i  Bakhsh,  a  rich 
Muhammadan  merchant,  who  dealt  in  English  goods  and  had 
stores  in  the  principal  towns  of  the  Panjab',  he  found  his  way 
to  the  city  of  Pesha'war,  the  gate  to  Ka'bul  on  the  northwest- 
ern frontier  of  India.  Na'bi  Bakhsh  soon  perceived  something 
in  Scott  which  he  did  not  see  in  those  of  his  own  faith — some- 
thing new  and  strange,  which  made  him  feel  that  it  was  safe 
to  trust  the  boy  unreservedly  with  his  business,  keys  and 
funds.  He  really  liked  Scott  better  than  any  other  of  his 
numerous  employees.  He  saw,  however,  one  serious  fault  in 
him,  which  he  tried  hard  to  remedy,  but  which  appeared  to  be 
incurable — Scott  was  a  Christian.  Desiring  that  ail  others 
also  should  become  Christians,  Scott  was  constantly  preach- 
ing to  every  one  he  met,  and  nothing  could  silence  him. 
There  was  thus  a  gulf  between  him  and  his  employer  which 
made  him  feel  that  his  situation  was  not  a  permanent  one ;  and 
his  Divine  Master  soon  gave  him  other  employment. 

It  is  customary  for  enterprising  Christians  in  Great  Britain 
to  watch  the  movements  of  the  British  army,  and  to  send  Bibles 
and  missionaries  wherever  the  army  opens  a  road.  The  first 
Ka'bul  war,  which  ended  in  1842,  having  raised  the  hope  of 
such  an  opening,  a  lady  in  England  sent  to  India  a  donation 
of  beautifully-bound  Bibles,  to  be  introduced  among  the  people 
ofKi'bul. 

The  Bible,  so  far  as  known,  had  never  been  carried  into  that 
country.  Ka'bul  is  a  Muhammadan  country,  both  the  people 
and  their  rulers  being  of  that  faith;  and,  as  is  well  known,  the 
Muhammadans  evervwhere  are  intolerant  towards  Christians. 


I04  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

and  Christian  agents.  The  Afghans,  a  name  apphed  to  the 
people  of  Ka'bul,  are  intolerant  even  to  a  proverb.  It  is  quite 
customary  for  them  in  India,  under  the  British  rule,  when  they 
lose  their  temper  in  discussion  with  missionaries,  to  gnash 
their  teeth,  and  say,  "  If  we  only  had  you  beyond  the  Khy'ber 
Pass,  we  would  convince  you  with  an  argument  of  steel ! "  The 
then  recent  attempt  of  the  British  to  establish  their  power  in 
Ka'bul  had  been  a  disastrous  failure ;  and  whilst  it  intensified 
the  hatred  of  the  Afghans,  it  established  no  power  under  the 
protection  of  which  a  Christian  agent  could  enter  their  coun- 
try. The  difficulties,  therefore,  of  sending  Bibles  amongst  them, 
especially  at  such  a  time,  may  well  be  regarded  as  very  great. 

The  English  lady's  donation  of  Bibles  was  sent  in  the  care 
of  Col.  Wheeler,  a  pious  officer  of  the  British  army,  then  sta- 
tioned at  Pesha'wur.  Col.  Wheeler's  plan  was  not  to  distrib- 
ute the  Bibles  gratis,  but  to  send  them  to  Ka'bul  for  sale  by 
some  Hindu,  Muhammadan  or  Jewish  merchant,  or  by  some 
caravan,  as  other  merchandise  was  usually  sent.  With  this  in 
view,  he  asked  Scott  to  look  about  in  Pesha'wur  for  some  suit- 
able party  going  to  Ka'bul. 

Scott  searched  all  through  Pesha'wur,  but  in  vain.  People 
exclaimed  in  surprise,  "What?  take  Bibles  to  Ka'bul?  Will 
the  Afghans  not  kill  us  ?  " 

He  then  reported  to  Wheeler  that  it  was  impossible  to  send 
the  Bibles  on  the  proposed  plan,  and  at  the  same  time  he  of- 
fered to  leave  his  own  situation  in  Na'bi  Bakhsh's  store  and 
take  them  himself. 

To  this  proposition  Col.  Wheeler  objected :  "  This  is  a  busi- 
ness which  requires  a  man  of  mature  experience — a  man  of 
courage  and  tact — whilst  you  are  only  an  inexperienced  lad  ; 
and  there  is  great  danger  of  losing  your  life." 

Scott  replied  that  it  was  the  Lord's  own  work,  and  since  no 
other  person  was  willing  to  undertake  it,  he  felt  called  to  go, 
trusting  his  life  in  the  hand  of  the  Lord,  who  would  surely 
take  care  of  him. 

Wheeler    advised   a   few  days'    delay,  during  which   they 


\  ■.■■  \ 


i 


REV.  Gr.()KC;K   W.  SCOTT. 


GEORGE  WASHINGTON   SCOTT,  IO5 

agreed  to  pray  for  guidance.  When  they  next  met,  Scott  said 
that  the  more  he  thought  and  prayed  the  more  anxious  he  felt 
to  go,  and  the  more  decidedly  he  believed  it  safe  to  do  so,  en- 
trusting his  life  to  God's  safe  keeping.  Wheeler  then  caused 
the  Bibles  to  be  packed  in  boxes  and  loaded  on  mules,  the 
best  means  of  conveying  them  over  wretched  roads  and  foot- 
paths, through  rugged  mountain  passes.  The  brave  lad,  after 
being  commended  to  the  Lord  by  the  pious  Colonel,  and 
taking  charge  of  his  precious  burden,  was  soon  beyond  the 
frontier  line,  where  there  was  no  arm  of  flesh  to  save,  and 
where  he  was  at  the  mercy  of  intolerant,  bloody  Afghans,  who, 
embittered  by  their  recent  struggle  with  a  Christian  power, 
would  rather  kill  a  Christian  than  a  dog. 

Scott,  finding  a  caravan  on  its  way  to  Ka'bul,  thought  it  best 
— although  it  consisted  of  Muhammadans — to  place  himself 
under  its  shadow  and  journey  along  with  it;  for  to  make  such  a 
trip  without  company  of  some  kind  would  have  been  exceed- 
ingly difficult,  if  not  impossible.  A  man  belonging  to  the 
caravan  came  to  him  one  day  and  put  the  significant  question, 
"  W/io  are  yoii?" — a  question  which  is  equivalent  to,  "What 
is  your  religious  faith  ?"  To  this  inquiry  Scott,  in  a  moment 
of  weakness  gave  an  evasive  answer,  leaving  it  to  be  fairly  in- 
ferred that  he  was  a  Muhammadan.  But  as  soon  as  he  had 
done  this  his  conscience  smote  him  ;  all  feeling  of  security 
was  gone ;  he  knew  that  he  had  sinfully  forfeited  the  Lord's 
merciful  protection  by  denying  him,  and  for  a  time  he  was 
afraid  and  greatly  distressed.  Not  long  after  this  he  took  the 
head  man  of  the  caravan  aside  privately,  and  plainly  said  to 
him:  "I  am  a  Christian.  I  am  taking  Bibles  to  Ka'bul.  I 
know  I  am  risking  my  life,  but  I  started  out  trusting  my  life 
in  God's  hand ;  but  when  one  of  your  men  asked  me  who  I 
was,  I  denied  God;  and  I  could  not  feel  safe  until  I  should 
come  and  tell  you  the  truth." 

The  Lord  gave  Scott  favor  in  the  eyes  of  this  man.  An 
order  was  forthwith  issued  by  him  to  the  servants  of  the  cara- 
van that  Scott  not  only  should  be  allowed  to  travel  under  their 


I06  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

protection,  but  should  be  supplied  with  whatever  he  needed 
from  their  common  stores.  "We  have  nothing  to  do  with 
religion  here,"  said  the  head  man  to  Scott ;  "  and  so  long  as  I 
am  the  chief  of  this  caravan,  my  son,  your  life  shall  be 
secure." 

In  due  time  Scott  reached  the  city  of  Ka'bul,  the  capital  of 
the  country,  took  quarters  in  a  caravansary,  and  began  to  ex- 
pose his  Bibles  and  other  goods  for  sale.*  The  next  morning 
after  his  arrival  his  action  was  reported  to  Dost  Muhammad 
Khan,  the  King,  who  straightway  sent  an  officer  to  arrest  and 
bring  him  before  His  Royal  Highness.  Scott  was  then  in- 
formed by  the  King  that  he  had  forfeited  his  life.  "  But"  said 
His  Highness,  "  there  is  one  condition  on  which  your  life  can 
be  spared:  Renounce  your  Christian  religion  and  repeat  the 
Muhammadan  Creed.  Say — 'There  is  but  one  God  and  Mu- 
hammad is  His  Prophet,'  and  you  will  not  be  put  to  death." 

Scott  attempted  to  reason  with  the  King,  saying,  "You 
allow  Hindu  and  Jewish  merchants  to  travel  through  your 
country  and  sell  their  goods,  and  why  not  allow  a  Christian  to 
do  the  same?  I  am  not  giving  these  books  to  your  subjects, 
but  offering  them  for  sale  like  any  other  merchandize;  and 
your  people  are  free  to  buy  or  not  as  they  choose. 

This  reasoning  had  no  weight  with  Dost  Muhammad,  who 
only  repeated  his  order,  "  Say  the  Creed  or  suffer  the  death 
penalty;  there  is  no  other  alternative." 

"  But,"  said  Scott,  "  what  good  can  it  do  for  me  to  repeat 
these  words  with  my  lips  when  my  heart  is  not  convinced  of 
their  truth?  First  convince  me  that  your  faith  is  right  and 
mine  wrong,  and  then  I  will  repeat  your  creed." 

This  the  King  admitted  was  reasonable ;  and  he  entertained 
no  doubt  that  Scott  could  readily  be  convinced.  A  learned 
Muhammadan  was  then  called  in,  who  not  only  was  versed  in 
the  English  language — a  mark  of  great  learning — but,  having 
received  his  education  in  the  Mission  School  at  Ludhia'na,  he 

*  As  a  prudential  measure  Scott  had  taken  along  with  the  Bibles  some  per- 
fumery and  other  small  articles  to  offer  for  sale. 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON   SCOTT.  ID/ 

was  somewhat  familiar  with  the  arguments  for  and  against 
Christianity.  With  this  formidable  opponent  Scott  was  bid  to 
engage  in  single  combat  and  debate  for  his  life,  whilst  the  King 
and  his  chief  men — all  bigoted  Muhammadans — should  sit  as 
umpires ;  these,  after  enjoying  the  sport,  were  to  give  judg- 
ment according  to  the  result,  in  their  estimation,  of  the  con- 
test. The  two  contestants  confronted  each  other — a  lion  and 
a  kid,  as  it  were,  in  the  lion's  own  den. 

Their  learned  champion,  taking  the  common  English  ver- 
sion of  the  Bible  itself  as  his  weapon,  made  the  first  onslaught 
thus:  "  You  Christians,  on  account  of  certain  terms  applied  to 
Jesus  Christ  in  your  Bible — such  as  '  God,'  for  example — ^jump 
to  the  conclusion  that  he  is  really  God  Divine.  But  I  can 
show  you  from  your  own  Bible  that  the  name  '  God '  is  applied 
to  others  besides  Jesus  Christ,  who  are  admitted  to  be  mere 
men." 

Scott  denied  that  any  such  passage  existed  in  the  Bible. 

The  Muhammadan  then  asked  him  whether  he  would  give 
up  the  contest,  and  say  Muhammad's  Creed,  in  case  such  a 
passage  were  produced. 

To  this  Scott  unhesitatingly  replied  that  he  certainly  would. 

"  How  do  you  spell  the  name  of  God  ?" 

"  I  spell  it  G-o-d,  of  course,"  replied  Scott. 

His  antagonist  now  searched  out  that  passage  in  the  82d 
Psalm,  which  reads  :  *' I  have  said,  Ye  are  gods  ;  and  all  of  you 
are  cJiildren  of  the  Most  High.  Bitt  ye  shall  die" — and  then, 
placing  the  book  before  Scott,  with  his  finger  at  the  words,  he 
exclaimed  with  an  air  of  triumph  :  "  There !    Do  you  see  that?  " 

Poor  Scott  had  never  heard  this  particular  objection  to  the 
Divinity  of  our  Lord,  and  he  trembled  in  doubt  as  to  how  he 
should  answer  it.  But  this  trepidation  was  only  momentary, 
for  it  was  given  him  in  that  same  hour  what  he  should  speak. 
There  came  to  his  mind  an  eastern  proverb,  which  is  applica- 
ble to  any  person  who  manifests  great  ignorance,  and  which 
runs  on  this  wise:  "  He  is  so  ignorant  that  he  knows  not  the 
difference  between  '  God '  and  '  dog.'  "    This  proverb  is  founded 


I08  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

on  the  fact  that  the  words  for  God  and  for  dog  in  the  Persian 
language  bear  a  slight  resemblance  to  each  other  in  the  eyes 
of  an  illiterate  man.  Scott  observed  that  the  word  god  in  this 
passage  began  with  a  small  g — thought  runs  swiftly  when  life 
is  held  in  jeopardy — and,  with  scarcely  pause  enough  to  be- 
tray his  momentary  hesitation,  he  turned  to  his  proud  adver- 
sary and  exclaimed  in  an  excited  tone  which  rung  throughout 
the  Dar'bdr :  "Are  you  the  learned  man  who  stands  before 
the  King  as  a  man  of  letters,  and  yet  so  ignorant  that  you  do 
not  know  the  difference  between  *  God '  and  'dog?'  Do  you 
not  see  the  small  g?  " 

Our  stripling's  pebble  brought  Goliath  to  the  ground — 
Praise  the  Lord !  The  royal  audience,  joining  in  a  hearty 
laugh  at  the  discomfiture  of  their  own  champion,  gave  their 
decision  that  Scott's  victory  was  undeniable. 

It  is  not  in  the  nature  of  a  beast  of  prey  to  willingly  part 
with  its  game;  nor  were  Dost  Muhammad  and  his  princes 
willing  to  release  this  Christian  boy,  who  had  on  their  own 
terms  so  clearly  won  his  life  and  liberty. 

Where  Muhammadans  are  not  tainted  with  Hindu  notions 
of  caste,  as  they  are  east  of  the  Indus  river,  they  count  it  law- 
ful to  eat  with  Christians,  especially  educated  ones  ;  and  Scott, 
having  established  his  reputation  as  a  learned  man,  was  in- 
vited, or  rather  commanded  to  dine  with  the  King  and  his 
princes.  He  expressed  surprise  at  this,  and  assured  them  that 
the  Muhammadans  of  India  where  he  lived  never  ate  with 
Christians,  They  replied  that  according  to  the  Koran  it  was 
lawful;  and  that  the  Muhammadans  beyond  the  Indus,  living 
among  Hindus,  were  little  better  than  Hindu  idolators  them- 
selves. 

When  dinner  was  served,  Scott's  faith  and  courage  were 
subjected  to  a  new  trial.  Should  he,  according  to  Christian 
custom,  raise  his  turban  from  his  head  and  ask  a  blessing  upon 
his  food,  this  act  could  not  fail  to  be  observed,  however  quietly 
it  might  be  done,  and  baring  the  head  in  the  presence  of 
superiors,  being  a  disrespectful  act  according  to  Oriental  eti- 


GEORGE   WASHINGTON    SCOTT,  IO9 

quette,  might,  under  the  circumstances,  not  only  give  offense, 
but  hazard  his  life.  On  the  other  hand,  he  remembered  the 
painful  lesson  which  he  had  learned  on  setting  out  from  Pesh- 
a'war,  and  thought  of  all  God's  protecting  care  thus  far;  then 
removing  the  turban  from  his  head,  he  reverently  bowed  in 
silent  prayer. 

"  How  dare  you  !"  exclaimed  one  of  the  courtiers.  "Are 
you  not  afraid  to  uncover  your  head  in  the  presence  of  the 
King?" 

Scott  meekly  answed :  "  It  is  a  custom  with  us  Christians 
never  to  eat  our  food  until  we  first  ask  God's  blessing  on  it." 

When  they  fairly  understood  what  he  was  doing,  they  were 
not  only  not  angered,  but  they  all  agreed  that  this  was  a  very 
good  custom. 

They  called  in  the  Kd'zt*  and,  having  stated  the  case,  de- 
sired his  judgment  as  to  what  should  be  done  with  "  this  infi- 
del," The  Ka'z'i  decided  that  he  should  be  put  to  death.  But 
at  the  urgent  suggestion  of  one  of  the  courtiers  the  execution 
of  this  sentence  was  postponed,  and  Scott  was  confined  in  a 
loathsome  prison,  where  he  became  dangerously  ill.  After 
some  time  they  brought  him  out  of  prison,  reduced  to  a  mere 
skeleton  by  fever  and  dysentery,  and  tried  to  decide  what  they 
would  finally  do  with  him.  The  Dar'bar  was  much  divided. 
The  general  sentiment  was  in  favor  of  putting  him  to  death; 
but  the  same  courtier  who  had  procured  the  postponement  of 
his  execution,  now  earnestly  opposed  it  on  the  ground  that  it 
might  offend  the  English,  "  If  you  only  let  him  alone,"  said  he, 
"  the  lad  will  soon  die  from  his  sickness.  Why  then  will  you 
incur  the  displeasure  of  the  British  government  when  nothing 
at  all  is  to  be  gained?"  Their  minds  were  greatly  occupied 
at  that  time  with  some  petty  border-war,  on  account  of  which 
they  were  anxious  to  dispose  of  this  case.  Finally,  an  old 
grayheaded  man  arose,  and  said  :  "  He  is  only  a  youth.  He 
has  seen  very  little  of  the  world  as  yet ;  it  would  be  a  pity  to 
cut  him  off  now.     It  is  better  to  let  him  live  a  while  longer," 

*YJk'z\,  Muhammadan  judge,  civil,  criminal  and  ecclesiastic. 


I  lO  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

To  this  they  finally  all  assented.  He  was  then  laid  on  a  char- 
pd-l  (light  bedstead),  and  carried  by  four  men  as  far  as  Ali 
Masjid  on  the  way  back  to  Pesha'war — two  soldiers  being  sent 
along  as  an  escort.  Scott  rapidly  recovered  his  health  under 
the  effects  of  pure  mountain  air ;  and  Col.  Wheeler  was  re- 
joiced to  receive  him  again  safe  and  sound.  His  yojith,  on 
account  of  which  the  brave  Colonel  had  objected,  proved  the 
most  important  point  in  his  favor. 

Scott's  Bibles  and  goods,  his  money  and  extra  clothing,  and 
his  English  Bible,  to  which  he  had  become  strongly  attached, 
were  all  taken  from  him  in  Ka'bul.  He  was  always  of  the 
opinion  that  those  Bibles,  being  handsomely  printed  and 
bound,  would  be  preserved  and  perused,  and  that  this  early — 
if  not  the  very  first — seed-sowing  in  Ka'bul  would  yield  a 
blessed  harvest  to  some  reaper  in  the  future. 

"  ril  speak  Thy  word  to  kings,  and  I 
With  shame  will  not  be  moved." 

When  I  learned  that  G.  W.  Scott  had  hazarded  his  life  in 
the  Master's  service  by  taking  Bibles  into  Ka'bul,  I  thought  I 
would  like  him  for  a  fellow-laborer,  provided  he  was  not  al- 
ready employed  in  some  other  mission.  Finding  that  he  was 
not  so  employed,  but  was  teaching  a  government  school,  I 
opened  a  correspondence  with  him,  which  resulted  in  his 
coming  to  Sial'kot  in  May,  1856.  He  brought  a  letter  from 
the  Rev.  J.  H.  Morrison,  in  which  the  latter  expressed  his 
pleasure  at  being  able  to  send  us  so  good  a  man.  I  offered 
him  a  smaller  salary  than  he  had  been  receiving,  and  his  cheer- 
fully accepting  of  a  reduced  income  for  the  sake  of  the  good 
work  confirmed  me  in  the  opinion,  never  aftewards  changed, 
that  he  was  a  valuable  accession  to  our  working  force. 

The  Rev.  Elisha  P.  Swift,  whose  native  name  was  Ram 
Chand,  was  born  in  the  village  of  Nidha'ra,  near  the  city  of 
Bari,  in  the  native  State  of  Gwalior,  about  the  year  1824.  The 
Raja  of  Gwalior  was  accustomed  to  imprison  his  subjects  for 
debt,  theft,  and  such  like  offences,  and  detain  them  until  the 


ELISHA   P.   SWIFT.  Ill 

death  of  some  prominent  man.  Swift's  eldest  brother,  Ram 
Bakhsh,  having  offended  the  Raja,  the  whole  family,  consisting 
of  five  brothers  and  their  parents,  secretly  left  his  dominions. 
In  the  course  of  their  wanderings  the  father  died  somewhere 
near  Bare'l'i,  and  the  mother  in  the  government  hospital  at 
Ludhia'na,  whither  the  family  had  found  their  way.  Dr.  Bad- 
ley,  a  Christian  gentleman,  who  had  charge  of  this  hospital  at 
the  time,  and  who  also  supported  a  private  school  for  native 
boys,  placed  the  three  younger  brothers  in  his  school,  and 
gave  employment  to  the  two  older  ones. 

Very  soon  after  this,  when  the  first  Ka'bul  war  broke  out, 
Dr.  Badley  being  ordered  to  the  front,  transferred  the  three 
young  boys  from  his  own  school  to  the  Boys'  Orphanage  of  the 
Ludhia'na  Mission,  and  took  the  oldest  brother,  Ram  Bakhsh 
to  Ka'bul  as  a  soldier;  Harbhajan  also,  the  second  brother, 
accompanying  him  in  a  private  capacity.  Ram  Bakhsh  died 
in  Ka'bul,  and  before  Harbhajan  returned  to  Ludhia'na  his 
three  younger  brothers  had  forsaken  idolatry  and  embraced 
the  Christian  faith.  For  a  long  time  after  breaking  caste  they 
could  not  endure  to  eat  eggs,  or  touch  beef*  A  mischievous 
school-mate  one  day  crammed  a  bit  of  beef  into  Swift's  mouth, 
at  which  he  was  so  disgusted  and  horrified  that  he  ate  no  food 
for  three  days. 

After  the  Boys'  Orphanage  had  been  removed  from  Ludhia'- 
na to  Saha'ranpur,  Swift  married  Sal'iiia  Mariah,  a  girl  from 
the  Orphanage  at  Ludhia'na.  When  the  time  came  for  him  to 
leave  Saha'ranpur — which  was  in  1846,  just  after  the  close  of 
the  first  Sikh  war — he  went  to  Saba'tii,  where,  under  the  di- 
rection of  the  Rev.  J.  Newton,  he  served  as  head  teacher  of  a 
Mission  School  for  a  period  of  fifteen  months.  After  this  he 
was  for  three  years  head  teacher  of  the  Mission  School  at  Am- 
balla,  where  he  also  engaged  regularly  in  preaching  the  Gos- 
pel.    Afterwards  he  served  the  Government  as  Treasury  Clerk 

*The  soul  of  one  of  the  ancestors  of  the  Hindus  is  believed  to  have  entered  a 
covi^,  therefore  they  had  as  great  abhorrence  of  eating  beef  as  we  would  of  eating 
human  flesh. 


112  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

for  fifteen  months.  Again  leaving  the  government  service  he 
came  to  Lahor,  and  labored  three  years  under  the  Rev.  C.  W. 
Forman  in  the  Mission  School,  beginning  as  second  teacher, 
and  rising  afterward  to  the  position  of  head  teacher.  He  was 
next  sent  by  Mr.  Forman  to  Gujranwa'la,  where  he  opened  a 
boys'  school  with  lOO  scholars,  and  a  girls'  school,  under  the 
charge  of  his  wife,  with  350  scholars.  After  two  years  at 
Gujranwa'la,  he  returned  to  Lahor,  and  labored  for  a  short 
time  as  catechist. 

Wishing  to  make  still  another  change,  he  resigned  his  con- 
nection with  the  Mission  at  Lahor  in  the  summer  of  1856,  and 
started  out  with  the  intention  of  leaving  his  family  with  his 
brother  until  he  should  look  around  and  determine  where  to 
settle  finally.  In  July  of  that  year  he  applied  to  the  SiaKkot 
Mission,  by  which  he  was  received  and  employed  as  a  cate- 
chist. 


i;i:\  .  i:i  isHA  P.  swift. 


REV.  EPHRAIM    H,  STEVENSON. 


CHAPTER    VIII. 

REINFORCEMENT — BEGINNINGS    OF    MISSION    WORK. 

THE  REV.  E.  H.  STEVENSON  AND  THE  REV.  R.  A.  HILL — MUTINY  ON 
BOARD  THEIR  SHIP — STAY  AT  SAHA^RANPUR — PLANS  FOR  MISSION 
WORK  IN  THE  FUTURE — OUR  FIRST  SCHOOL  FOR  NON-CHRISTIAN  BOYS 
— MISSION  ORPHANAGE  ESTABLISHED — SICKNESS  FROM  LIVING  IN  A 
DAMP  HOUSE — OUR  FIRST  CAMPAIGN — OUR  RETREAT — TRY  AGAIN- 
BEST  KNOWN  TEST  OF  A  MISSIONARY'S  TEMPER — CAN'T  GET  OUT  OF  A 
MUD-HOLE  WITHOUT  ORDERS — IN  THE  RIVER  DEG — THIRD  MISSION 
DWELLING — SUMMARY. 

AT  the  very  time  when  we  were  suffering  inconvenience 
from  the  want  of  funds,  and  borrowing  money  from 
strangers,  our  good  friends  in  America  were  increasing  their 
contributions  and  sending  out  more  missionaries  to  our  field. 
At  the  meeting  of  the  Associate  Synod  in  Xenia,  Ohio,  May, 
1855,  two  new  missionaries,  the  Rev.  E.  H.  Stevenson  and  Mr. 
John  Harper,  the  latter  not  yet  ordained,  were  chosen  and  ap- 
pointed on  the  31st  of  that  month.  Mr.  Harper  declined  the 
appointment ;  and  the  Rev.  R.  A.  Hill,  from  the  Reformed 
Presbyterian  Church,  offering  himself,  was  appointed  by  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Misions  to  fill  Mr.  Harper's  place. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stevenson,  with  their  child,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Hill,  sailed  from  Boston  in  the  ship  Chaska  on  the  22d  of 
August,  1855,  and  arrived  at  Calcutta  by  way  of  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope  on  the  12th  of  January,  1856. 

Near  the  end  of  their  voyage,  in  87°  east  longitude  and  12° 
south  latitude,  they  sighted  the  ship  Triinnph,  which  had  re- 
cently been  wrecked  and  abandoned.  The  mate  of  the  Chaska^ 
who  went  in  a  small  boat  to  examine  the  wreck,  discovered  live 
sheep  on  board.  On  his  return  he  reported  that  the  Triumpk 
was  not  seriously  damaged,  and  that  he  believed  he  could^ 

(113) 


I  14  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

with  the  aid  of  a  portion  of  the  Chaska's  crew,  run  her  in  to 
Calcutta,  The  prospect  of  securing  a  prize,  worth  perhaps 
$40,000,  a  share  of  which  would  fall  to  every  one  on  board  the 
Chaska,  greatly  excited  the  cupidity  of  the  sailors ;  but  the  sea 
was  too  rough  to  attempt  anything  of  the  kind  that  day.  On 
the  next  day,  which  was  the  Sabbath,  the  sea  was  favorable, 
and  the  question  of  turning  back  was  discussed.  To  turn  back 
without  the  unanimous  consent  of  all  on  board  would  forfeit 
the  insurance  on  their  own  vessel  and  cargo,  and  the  mission- 
ary party  objected  to  entering  upon  such  a  work  on  the  Lord's 
day;  consequently  the  valuable  prize  was  not  secured.  The 
crew  took  this  very  ill,  and  sullenly  assembed  in  the  forecastle. 
When  the  wind  arose,  and  the  captain  ordered  the  sailors  to 
take  in  sail,  not  a  man  obeyed  ;  and  the  passengers  felt  a  shud- 
der at  the  dreadful  thought  of  being  thus  in  the  power  of  a 
mutinous  crew.  No  time  was  lost  in  preparing  for  defense. 
Knives,  spears,  firearms — all  kinds  of  available  weapons  were 
held  in  readiness.  The  captain  loaded  his  revolver,  and  walked 
forward.  Taking  his  position  at  the  door  of  the  forecastle,  he 
said  to  the  crew :  "  /  will  now  order  y on  out  on  duty  one  by  one, 
and  tlie  first  man — and  every  man — zvho  refuses  to  obey  as  soon 
as  his  name  is  called  will  be  instantly  shot  down!'  The  vigor- 
ous measure  proved  effectual.  Every  man  walked  out.  Dis- 
cipline of  the  most  rigid  kind  was  enforced,  and  thence  for- 
ward all  went  on  satisfactorily. 

It  may  seem  strange  now,  but  it  was  nevertheless  true  in 
those  slow  times,  that  these  two  missionaries,  appointed  in  the 
spring  and  sailing  in  August,  were  approaching  the  shores  of 
India  near  the  end  of  the  year  before  we,  who  were  in  India, 
had  any  certain  knowledge  of  their  appointment. 

Our  re-inforcement  left  Calcutta  on  the  5th  of  February, 
1856,  and  arrived  at  Saha'ranpur  on  the  27th  of  the  same 
month. 

Mr.  Stevenson,  after  staying  there  a  short  time,  proceeded 
to  Sia'lkot,  arriving  on  the  22d  of  March,  whilst  Mr.  Hill  re- 
mained in  Saha'ranpur  during  the  approaching  hot  season, 


BEGINNINGS    OF    MISSION   WORK.  I  1 5 

and  reached  Sia'lkot  on  the  24th  of  the  ensuing  October. 
Subsequent  to  this  increase  of  the  mission  band  our  work  ad- 
vanced step  by  step  as  agreed  upon  after  mutual  consultation. 
Whilst  these  new  missionaries  were  still  at  Saha'ranpur,  on 
their  way  to  join  us,  some  of  our  plans  for  the  future  were  dis- 
cussed and  settled  by  means  of  circular  letters.  Thus  it  was 
agreed  that  two  missionaries  were  as  many  as  should  ordin- 
arily settle  in  a  station — that  Mr.  Stevenson  should  be  perma- 
nently located  with  me  in  Sial'kot — that  a  second  missionary 
dwelling  should,  as  soon  as  possible,  be  there  erected,  and 
that  Mr.  Hill,  either  alone  or  in  company  with  some  new 
missionary  who  might  soon  be  added  to  our  number,  should 
take  up  a  new  station.  Very  soon,  therefore,  after  Mr.  Ste- 
venson's arrival  in  Sial'kot,  he  began  the  erection  of  a  second 
house  a  few  rods  northeast  of  the  first  one. 

The  little  school  for  non-Christian  boys,  which,  it  will  be 
remembered  had  been  opened  by  the  Rev.  T.  H.  Fitzpatrick 
in  the  city  of  Sial'kot,  deserves  a  brief  notice  here,  since  it  was 
the  small  beginning  of  a  particular  method  of  work  in  our 
Mission,  which  gradually  grew  in  importance  during  a  period 
of  more  than  twenty-five  years.  As  soon  as  it  became  known 
to  Mr.  Fitzpatrick  that  I  had  located  permanently  at  Sial'kot, 
I  received  a  letter  from  him,  in  which  he  offered  to  make  over 
the  school  to  me.  This  generous  offer  placed  me  in  a  some- 
what unpleasant  dilemma.  On  the  one  hand,  I  did  not  wish 
to  take  charge  of  this  or  any  other  school;  for  I  had  made  up 
my  mind,  after  much  deliberation,  not  to  undertake  work  of 
this  kind.  On  the  other  hand,  it  did  not  seem  desirable  that 
the  only  organized  work  that  would  be  carried  on  in  our  field, 
perhaps  for  several  years,  should  remain  under  the  control 
and  direction  of  another  society  than  our  own.  I  could  have 
got  out  of  this  dilemma  very  readily  by  accepting  the  school 
and  immediately  disbanding  it,  but  did  not  think  this  would  be 
a  courteous  act.  I  therefore  replied  to  Mr.  Fitzpatrick's  letter, 
that  as  my  great  ambition  was  to  master  the  language  and 
preach  to  the  people,  and  as  I  believed  the  charge  of  a  school 


Il6  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

would  prevent  my  accomplishing  this  successfully,  I  felt  con- 
strained to  decline  his  offer. 

The  school  continued  for  a  time  under  the  supervision  of 
Mr.  Fitzpatrick's  local  committee,  which  consisted  of  Major 
Dawes,  Capt.  C.  M.  Fitzgerald  and  Lieut.  A.  Heath.  These 
gentlemen,  finding  that  they  could  not  spare  time  to  look  after 
it  properly,  requested  me  to  give  it  half  an  hour's  attention 
once  a  week,  and  offered  at  the  same  time  to  continue  raising 
money  enough  to  defray  all  its  expenses.  I  agreed  to  this  as 
a  temporary  arrangement. 

Shortly  after  Mr.  Stevenson's  arrival,  in  March,  1856,  he 
and  I  discussed  fully  the  question  of  carrying  on  schools  as 
a  method  of  evangelizing  the  heathen.  He  was  decidedly  in 
favor  of  such  schools,  and  quoted  in  support  of  his  position 
the  example  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  who  labored  for  two  years 
in  the  school  of  one  Tyrannus. 

I  said  I  was  willing  to  do  what  Paul  did — go  into  a  school 
and  preach — if  we  could  find  a  man  who,  like  Tyrannus,  would 
carry  it  on  and  at  the  same  time  allow  us  the  privilege  of 
preaching  to  his  scholars;  but  I  could  not  undertake  to  be 
both  Paul  and  Tyrannus.  Brother  Stevenson  declared  his 
willingness  to  undertake  the  work  of  both  Paul  and  Tyrannus 
until  the  Church  should  send  out  teachers  for  the  special  pur- 
pose of  carrying  on  educational  work.  We  agreed  to  differ 
without  opposing  one  another. 

In  April,  1856,  the  school  committee  met  for  the  purpose  of 
making  final  disposal  of  Mr.  Fitzpatrick's  school,  which  was  still 
on  their  hands.  Mr.  Stevenson  attended  their  meeting,  at  which 
the  school  was  formally  made  over  to  him.  From  that  time 
schools  for  non-Christian  boys  were  recognized  as  a  regular 
part  of  our  mission  work. 

This,  our  first  school  of  the  kind,  was  taught  in  a  native 
dwelling,  situated  in  the  heart  of  the  city  of  Sial'kot,  which 
had  been  confiscated  and  was  afterwards  donated  by  the  govern- 
ment to  Mr.  Fitzpatrick.  Its  pupils  numbered  about  thirty. 
The  Bible  was  taught  in  it  from  the  first.     The  monthly  ex- 


BEGINNINGS   OF    MISSION    WORK.  11/ 

pense  was  Rs.  30.  Our  only  rival  was  the  government  school 
— entirely  secular — which  was  not  much  larger  than  our  own, 
public  instruction  in  India  being  then  in  its  infancy.  The  Direc- 
tor of  Public  Instruction  in  the  Panjab'  promised  to  discontinue 
this  rival  school  whenever  it  should  be  fairly  excelled  by  ours. 
Our  school  was  soon  superior  to  it,  and  so  acknowledged  by 
the  Director  himself,  yet  his  promise  was  never  fulfilled. 

It  was  agreed  by  all  of  us  that  an  orphanage  should  be  es- 
tablished in  our  mission  into  which  both  boys  and  girls  should 
for  the  present  be  received  and  placed  under  the  care  of  Miss 
E,  G.  Gordon,  who  had  been  sent  to  India  with  this  work  in 
view.  The  carrying  on  of  such  an  institution  it  was  believed 
would  be  a  truly  charitable  work;  the  children,  unlike  those 
received  into  such  day  schools  as  the  one  just  mentioned, 
would  be  entirely  under  Christian  parental  government;  a 
number  of  congregations.  Sabbath-schools  and  individuals  in 
America  were  willing  to  undertake  the  support  of  orphans; 
other  missions  in  India  had  their  orphanages,  and  this  line  of 
effort  was  in  favor  with  beneficent  English  gentlemen  and 
ladies  in  India. 

Captain  C.  M.  Fitzgerald,  a  year  or  two  before  we  first  met 
him  in  Sial'kot,  had  sought  a  healthful  change  of  climate  for 
his  wife  by  making  a  sojourn  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
Whilst  they  were  at  the  Cape  their  female  servant,  who  was  a 
widow,  eloped  with  a  South  African,  leaving  with  them  her 
little  boy.  On  their  return  they  brought  the  little  one  to  Sial'- 
kot, and  on  our  arrival  they  made  him  over  to  us  as  a  begin- 
ing  of  our  orphanage,  naming  him  Charles  Cape,  and  providing 
for  his  support.* 

In  the  beginning  of  1857  the  Deputy  Commissioner  at  Sial'- 
kot was  collecting  statistics  relating  to  his  district,  and  at  our 
request  ascertained  for  us  the  number,  names  and  residence 
of  orphan    children  who   had  no  relatives  able    and   willing 

*  After  arriving  at  the  stage  of  manhood,  Charles  Cape  apostatized  and  became 
a  Muhammadan.  "  Many  that  are  first  shall  be  last ;  and  the  last  shall  be  first." 
Matt.  xix.  30.  . 


Il8  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

to  support  them,  and  who  consequently  lived  by  begging. 
The  autumn  of  1856,  following  an  unusually  abundant  rain- 
fall, had  been  a  very  sickly  one.  A  deadly  fever  prevailed  in 
the  Panjab',  by  which  whole  villages  were  so  completely  pros- 
trated that  no  one  person  in  them  was  able  to  help  another ; 
and  some  villages  were  almost  depopulated,  I  was  credibly 
informed  that  in  Zafarwal'  alone,  with  a  population  of  about 
5,000,  there  were  1,100  deaths  that  season.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances it  was  inevitable  that  there  must  be  a  large  num- 
ber of  destitute  children  in  a  population  so  generally  poor. 

We  visited  many  of  the  villages  in  which  such  children 
were  reported,  and  offered  to  become  responsible  for  their  sup- 
port and  education,  if  the  village  authorities  would  make  them 
over  to  us.  These  officials  seemed  generally  willing  to  give 
us  the  children,  and  to  put  their  seals  to  the  agreement,  which 
was  in  all  cases  drawn  up  in  legal  form  on  stamped  paper.  In 
every  instance  the  statement  that  the  children  were  orphans, 
with  none  to  claim  them,  and  that  they  lived  by  begging,  was 
endorsed  by  the  village  officers.  In  this  way  we  gathered 
twenty-two  children  early  in  the  year  1857. 

We  had  nothing  in  the  form  of  a  suitable  building  where 
our  charge  could  be  comfortably  housed  and  made  to  feel  at 
home;  and  there  was  nothing  whatever  to  prevent  ill-disposed 
outsiders  from  whispering  dreadful  things  into  their  ears. 
Some  of  them  believed  that  we  intended  to  fatten  and  kill 
them,  and  box  up  their  fat  to  be  sent  away  to  a  foreign  coun- 
try. One  of  them,  when  found  crying,  gave  this  explanation 
of  his  grief,  and  actually  ran  away  from  the  dreadful  fate  which 
he  believed  awaited  him. 

After  the  work  of  gathering  them  was  well  begun,  our  prem- 
ises were  one  day  invaded  by  a  number  of  people  claiming  to 
be  their  near  relatives.  All  the  boys  and  girls,  without  excep- 
tion, were  claimed  by  persons  avowing  themselves  to  be  their 
uncles,  aunts,  grandmothers,  or  other  near  relatives ;  and  these 
claimants,  going  before  the  Magistrate,  bound  themselves  to 
support  the  children.     We  did  not  deem  it  expedient  to  resist 


BEGINNINGS    OF    MISSION    WORK.  II9 

their  claims,  as  we  could  legally  have  done,  and  in  a  very  short 
time  these  childen  were  all  taken  from  us  with  the  single  ex- 
ception of  a  little  two-year  old  boy,  who  was  left  by  what 
seemed  a  mere  accident.  When  the  Magistrate  summoned  us 
to  appear  in  court  with  this  child,  we  were  for  some  reason  un- 
able to  do  so;  another  day  was  then  set,  when  ive  went;  but 
the  claimant  failed  to  put  in  his  appearance,  and  the  child  was 
sent  home  to  remain  with  us.  VVe  christened  him  Willie 
Belle. 

The  Chief  Magistrate  of  the  Gujrat'  district  requested  us  to 
send  for  a  little  three  and  a  half  year  old  girl,  whom  he  had 
rescued  from  the  proprietors  of  a  house  of  ill-repute  in  the  city 
of  Gujrat',  This  child  was  not  only  beautiful,  but  her  manners, 
disposition  and  intelligence  were  such  as  to  make  her  a  gen- 
eral favorite.  As  might  reasonably  be  expected,  the  wicked 
people  into  whose  hands  she  had  fallen,  esteeming  her  a  valu- 
able prize,  were  very  unwilling  to  give  her  up.  The  man 
whom  we  sent  for  her  reported  on  his  return  that  there  was 
intense  excitement  over  her  case,  and  that  he  considered  his 
own  life  in  danger  when  he  went  to  bring  her  away.  This 
third  orphan  came  amongst  us  in  the  spring  of  1857,  just  be- 
fore the  outbreak  of  the  Sepoy  Mutiny.  Piya'ri  Harper  was 
her  Christian  name,  I  shall  have  something  more  to  say 
about  Piya'ri  in  a  future  chapter. 

When  the  hot  winds  began  to  blow,  in  the  beginning  of 
May,  1856,  tents  and  temporary  huts  affording  but  little  pro- 
tection from  the  great  heat,  we  all  sought  shelter  in  our  first 
mission  house,  which  was  by  this  time  approaching  comple- 
tion. The  brick  walls  and  the  floors  were  still  so  damp  as 
to  make  the  rooms  very  cool.  The  pleasant  contrast  between 
the  coolness  inside  and  the  hot  winds,  dust  storms,  and  glare 
outside,  quite  reconciled  us,  with  our  two  families,  to  pack  our- 
selves away  in  the  finished  veranda-rooms,  whilst  masons  and 
carpenters  were  still  at  work  in  the  main  rooms.  The  conse- 
quence was,  as  Dr.  Campbell  of  Saha'ranpur  had  predicted, 
that  almost  every  member  of  both  families  suffered   from   a 


I20  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

severe  attack  of  illness,  which  in  the  case  of  some  of  our  party 
continued  far  into  the  next  autumn. 

In  the  month  of  November,  1856,  soon  after  the  arrival  of 
Mr,  and  Mrs.  Hill  from  Saha'ranpur,  it  was  decided  that  we 
should  all  go  into  tents,  and  make  a  trip  by  marches  of  ten  or 
twelve  miles  a  day  to  the  city  of  Jhi'lam,  sixty  miles  north- 
west of  Sial'kot.  The  object  of  this  excursion  was  three-fold  : 
we  wished  to  begin  to  publish  the  Gospel  among  the  heathen; 
for  although  we  foreigners  could  not  speak  the  language  very 
well,  our  native  catechists  G.  W.  Scott  and  E.  P.  Swift  could, 
and  we  would  be  learning.  Again,  we  wished  to  visit  Jhi'lam 
with  the  view  of  occupying  it  as  a  second  principal  Mission 
station;  for  our  plan  was  to  locate  but  two  of  our  number 
in  Sial'kot,  whilst  Jhi'lam,  being  the  government  headquar- 
ters and  the  chief  city  in  a  district  of  the  same  name  which 
contained  a  population  of  more  than  half  a  million,  we  thought 
would  be  a  suitable  place  for  a  second  station.  And,  lastly, 
one  object  of  the  trip  was  to  recruit  the  health  of  those  who 
were  still  suffering  from  the  effects  of  living  in  a  damp  house. 
Accordingly,  on  the  9th  of  November,  our  clothing  and  bed- 
ding, provisions  and  cooking  utensils,  lights,  books,  tents  and 
other  camp  requisites,  were  all  loaded  on  two  native  ox-carts 
and  sent  off  in  the  evening,  in  order  that  the  tents  might  be 
set  up  at  the  end  of  the  first  day's  march,  whither  we  were  to 
follow  the  next  morning  in  time  for  breakfast. 

During  the  four  coolest  months  of  the  year  tent  life  is  both 
healthful  and  pleasant,  except  when  there  is  a  heavy  fall  of 
rain ;  it  is  often  prescribed  for  invalids  when  medicines  prove 
ineffectual.  The  prospect,  therefore,  of  leaving  our  sick  rooms 
in  the  cool,  dry  month  of  November,  to  enjoy  daily  changes 
of  scene,  and  breathe  fresh  and  salubrious  air  in  camp,  was  in- 
deed cheering.  The  very  anticipation  was  of  itself  enough  to 
impart  renewed  vigor  to  the  languishing. 

In  the  morning  we  followed  the  route  which  our  hired  ox- 
carts had  taken  the  evening  before.  These  native  carts  are 
usually  rude,  clumsy,  rickety  affairs,  constructed  with   such 


REV.  ROBERT  A.  HILL. 


BEGINNINGS    OF    MISSION   WORK.  121 

narrow  beds  that  we  were  compelled  to  build  the  loads  very- 
high  in  order  to  get  everything  in.  Before  we  had  gone  far 
we  found  that  one  of  them  had  toppled  over,  causing  a  general 
smash — the  cart  itself  becoming  quite  disabled  in  the  catastro- 
phe. By  one  o'clock  we  opened  our  store  of  provisions  and 
ate  some  breakfast — not  in  one  of  the  tents,  which  were  not  yet 
pitched,  but  in  a  choice  spot  on  the  road,  where  there  was  some 
shade,  no  grass  and  plenty  of  dust.  When  night  came  on  we 
had  only  succeeded,  after  laborious  efforts,  in  setting  up  parts 
of  our  tents — enough  barely  to  protect  us  from  the  dew — 
when,  weary  and  exhausted,  we  threw  ourselves  down  inform- 
ally to  rest  for  the  night. 

The  next  morning  saw  us  all  holding  a  "  council  of  war," 
to  deliberate  on  the  aspect  of  affairs.  The  first  day's  march 
of  our  first  campaign  in  our  India  mission  field  had  been  made. 
We  had  reached  a  place  nearly  five  miles  from  Sial'kot,  our 
headquarters !  This  had  proved  a  Herculean  task,  consuming 
two  days ;  the  fifty-five  miles  of  travel  yet  to  be  accomplished 
before  Jh'i'lam  could  be  reached,  and  the  return  journey  of 
sixty  miles  more,  were  beginning  to  look  very  formidable. 
The  question,  therefore,  arose,  "  Shall  we  advance  or  shall  we 
retreat?" 

We  had  not  effected  all  the  objects  for  which  we  had  set 
out,  but  had  gained  no  little  experience.  It  was  evident  that 
we  must  either  have  lighter  tents,  or  better  carts  to  carry  them 
and  more  men  to  handle  them.  Our  day-tent  had  been  pur- 
chased under  the  advice  of  those  who  had  long  experience  in 
the  country,  and  yet  we  found  it  unwieldy — at  least  three  times 
as  heavy  as  we  could  afford  to  carry  about  on  such  expedi- 
tions. But  the  money  had  been  invested,  and  we  must  make 
the  best  of  our  bargain.  So,  after  the  brethren  had  appointed 
me  a  committee  to  get  two  suitable  carts  made,  we  abandoned 
our  campaign,  and  all  returned  to  headquarters,  just  as  many 
another  brave  force  has  been  compelled  to  do. 

It  was  either  on  the  morning  of  our  retreat,  or  the  morning 
after  that   I  went  to  consult  about  carts  with   Lieut.  Heath, 


122  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

who  was  an  executive  engineer,  and  my  wise  and  willing  coun- 
selor in  all  such  matters.  Then,  returning  home  at  1 1  o'clock 
a.  m.,  I  took  a  fever  which  confined  me  to  bed  eighteen  days, 
and  laid  me  aside  from  active  work  the  greater  part  of  that 
cold  season. 

As  soon  as  I  was  able  to  go  about,  it  was  thought  that  noth- 
ing better  could  be  devised  for  getting  up  strength  than  a 
few  weeks  of  tent  life;  and  since  the  other  missionaries  could 
learn  the  language  full  better  in  camp  than  at  home,  and  all 
were  eager  to  make  some  kind  of  a  beginning,  we  met  together 
for  prayer — laid  firm  hold  of  those  words:  ^' All  power  is  given 
unto  me  in  heaven  and  in  earth  ;  go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all 

nations and  lo,  I  am  with  yon" — and  prepared  to  start 

out  again  on  the  8th  of  January,  1857.  In  this  second  cam- 
paign we  turned  our  faces  toward  Zafarwal',  a  large  town 
twenty-six  miles  east  of  Sial'kot. 

The  day  on  which  a  missionary  leaves  his  station  for  itiner- 
ant preaching  affords  about  the  best  known  test  of  his  patience. 
His  preparations  are  not  a  mere  matter  of  packing  a  trunk 
or  carpet-bag  with  toilet  requisites  to  use  at  a  hotel  or  in  the 
furnished  rooms  of  some  hospitable  friend ;  he  must  provide  a 
box  of  food  such  as  his  stomach  is  accustomed  to  digest,  and 
see  that  the  lock  is  in  good  repair ;  he  must  take  along  appli- 
ances for  cooking  his  food;  he  must  carry  a  tent  to  live  in, 
beds  and  bedding,  chairs  and  tables — unless  his  joints  admit 
of  doubling  up — books,  writing  materials,  lights,  and  other  re- 
quisites for  living  and  working;  and  all  these  must  be  as  light, 
strong  and  portable  as  possible,  else  he  will  have  a  heavy  bill 
to  pay  for  repairs  after  every  trip.  It  is,  therefore,  something 
of  a  task  to  get  off,  even  supposing  that  all  things  move  se- 
renely. But  after  this  manner  they  never  do  move  on  such 
occasions.  Some  servant,  who  has  been  working  contentedly 
hitherto,  foresees  a  little  extra  work  and  strikes  for  higher 
wages,  or  leaves  just  in  this  hour  of  greatest  need.  Extra 
men,  after  being  looked  up  and  engaged  for  the  journey,  are 
found  to  be  useless,  or  they  desert  you  on  the  eve  of  your  de- 


BEGINNINGS    OF   MISSION   WORK.  1 23 

parture.  A  man  sent  out  to  hire  carts  or  camels,  after  sev- 
eral days'  searching,  returns  to  report  that  the  owners  refuse 
to  hire  them;  and  rather  than  have  the  work  brought  to  a 
stand-still,  you  reluctantly,  and  as  a  last  resort,  apply  for  car- 
riers to  the  Civil  Magistrate,  who  presses  them  into  your  ser- 
vice.* After  they  have  been  engaged,  either  voluntarily  or 
under  the  pressure  of  government  machinery,  they  will  not 
move  until  they  have  received  an  advance  of  money.  When 
the  tents  are  taken  out  from  where  they  had  been  stowed 
away  after  the  last  trip,  the  discovery  is  made  that  many  of 
the  tent-pins  have  been  stolen  and  used  for  fuel.  Ropes  also 
are  sure  to  be  missing;  and  if  rats  and  mice  have  not  cut  the 
tents  in  holes,  nor  white  ants  destroyed  portions  of  them,  nor 
a  leaking-in  of  water  rotted  them  in  spots,  you  will  enjoy  a 
happy  surprise.  The  work  also  of  the  Mission  station,  which 
involves  one  in  many  cares  and  responsibilities,  must  be  ad- 
justed by  the  departing  missionary.  Building,  repairs,  schools, 
and  whatever  else  involves  the  expenditure  of  Mission  funds, 
must  either  be  suspended  for  the  time  (which  is  generally  im- 
practicable), or  they  must  be  handed  over  to  somebody  illy- 
qualified  to  take  charge  of  them  in  the  interim.  Finally,  the 
missionary  who  is  so  comfortably  situated  as  to  be  cumbered 
with  the  cares  of  a  home,  must  either  adjust  many  petty  do- 
mestic matters,  or  leave  his  home  to  go  to  wreck.  All  these 
things  are  heaped  upon  him  in  a  single  day,  and  if  he  can  get 
through  the  day  with  his  nerves  in  a  condition  to  sleep  well 
the  coming  night,  he  need  not  fear  any  of  the  other  petty  trials 
of  missionary  life. 

Having  completed  our  preparations  we   sent  forward  the 

*This  is  customary.  Indeed  some  classes  of  natives  have  been  so  long  accus- 
tomed to  work  under  compulsion  that  they  rather  prefer  it ;  at  least,  when  they 
utterly  refuse  in  the  one  case,  and  go  cheerfully  to  work  in  the  other,  on  the  same 
pay  that  had  been  offered,  their  conduct  looks  very  much  like  preference.  It  is 
also  true  that  they  are  less  liable  to  be  swindled  out  of  their  wages  when  set  to 
work  by  government  authority.  Nevertheless,  we  exceedingly  dislike  this  system, 
and  only  resort  to  it  because  of  the  expense  that  would  be  incurred  by  keeping 
our  own  carrying  animals  instead  of  hiring  others. 


124  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

day-tent ;  and  pitching  the  small  night-tents  near  the  house, 
we  entered  them  for  a  night's  rest.  After  midnight,  when 
"  tired  nature's  sweet  restorer,  balmy  sleep,"  had  fairly  begun 
its  pleasant  work,  a  man  took  his  stand  beside  my  tent,  and 
iterated,  "  Sa'hib,  Sa'hib,  Sa'hib,"  in  a  low  tone,  keeping  it  up 
with  great  perseverance. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  I  inquired,  half  dreaming. 

"  Your  cart-man  ! "  he  answered. 

"  My  cart-man !  What  are  you  doing  here  ?  I  thought  you 
had  been  ten  miles  off  with  the  tent  by  this  time." 

"  Sa'hib,  one  of  the  two  carts,  after  we  had  gone  three  miles, 
stuck  fast  in  the  mud ;  I  don't  know  what  to  do,  and  have 
come  for  orders." 

"You  don't  know  what  to  do?  Hire  extra  oxen  from  the 
nearest  village,  and  pull  the  cart  out  of  the  mud,  of  course; 
what  else?  " 

Here  the  simple  fellow  was  silent  for  a  minute,  and  then 
added,  "  Sa'hib,  it  will  cost  twelve  cents ;  will  you  please  to 
advance  the  money  ?  " 

At  length  I  got  wide  enough  awake  to  comprehend  the 
whole  business.  If  the  man  was  dishonest,  he  was  improving 
an  opportunity  for  making  twelve  cents;  if  honest,  he  was  un- 
able to  incur  the  grave  responsibility  of  spending  so  much 
money  without  an  explicit  order,  and  the  money  in  advance. 
The  man  I  think  was  acting  in  good  faith.  The  worry  of  the 
past  day  had  been  enough  to  make  one  half  crazy,  and  a  good 
sound  sleep  was  worth  more  to  me  than  twelve  times  twelve 
cents.  But  these  people  must  have  either  established  usage 
or  strict  orders  before  they  move  in  any  matter  of  importance ; 
and  this  was  an  important  matter  to  him.  An  officer  entrusted 
with  the  movements  of  an  army  would  in  any  emergency  go 
back  for  orders,  knowing  the  terrible  strictness  of  military  dis- 
cipline; just  so  these  poverty-stricken  sons  of  despotic  oppres- 
sion naturally  shrink  from  the  responsibility  of  moving  a  step 
without  orders. 

We  had  thought  to  economize  a  little  on  this  trip  by  dis- 


BEGINNINGS   OF   MISSION   WORK.  12$ 

pensing  with  a  regular  tent  pitcher;  but  we  soon  experienced 
so  much  difficulty  and  delay  that  we  were  compelled  to  hire 
one,  after  which  we  got  along  better.  The  man,  however, 
pitched  our  tent  one  night  where  the  ground  was  concave,  in- 
stead of  choosing  a  spot  that  was  properly  convex,  and  we 
awoke  that  night  to  find  the  water  two  inches  deep  on  the 
floor  of  our  tent. 

After  reaching  Zafarwal',  and  having  our  tents  erected  in  a 
suitable  place,  heavy  rains  set  in,  and  we  fought  the  water  in 
the  usual  way  by  raising  a  ridge  of  earth  just  inside  of  the  tent 
wall.  Messrs.  Scott  and  Swift  were  with  us.  Daily  preach- 
ing was  kept  up  in  both  the  city  and  adjacent  villages,  except 
when  interrupted  by  the  rain.  On  the  8th  of  February  we  all 
returned  to  Sial'kot  with  improved  health. 

The  Deg,  a  river  west  of  Zafarwal',  which  had  neither  bridge 
nor  ferry,  and  which,  with  its  sandy  bottom,  is  very  treacher- 
ous in  rainy  weather,  was  much  swollen  when  we  returned; 
and  some  of  us  thought  we  had  a  narrow  escape  in  fording  it. 
Part  of  our  baggage  being  carried  on  camels,  some  of  the  tents 
were  soaked  by  one  of  the  animals  kneeling  down  in  the  water. 
Mr.  Stevenson's  trunk,  containing  his  clothing,  books  and 
papers,  was  filled  with  the  muddy  river  water  in  consequence 
of  a  cart  sinking  into  the  sandy  bottom;  and  the  provision 
box  and  a  box  of  books  for  distribution  suffered  in  the  same 
way. 

The  taking  up  of  Jhi'lam  as  a  mission  station  having  been 
postponed  for  a  time,  it  became  necessary  to  provide  a  house 
for  Mr.  Hill  elsewhere.  Meanwhile  Mr.  Hill,  since  his  arri- 
val, had  felt  so  well  pl-eased  with  Sial'kot,  and  expressed  so 
strongly  his  desire  to  remain  there,  that  the  other  members  of 
the  Mission  consented  to  a  departure  from  their  first  plan, 
somewhat  against  their  judgment,  and  purchased  a  third  dwell- 
ing-house, which  was  then  found  to  be  for  sale,  two  miles 
northwest  of  the  city,  and  nearly  as  far  west  of  the  Military 
Cantonment.  This  location  being  elevated  and  healthful,  was 
very  desirable,  but  for  its  great  distance  from  both  city  and 
Cantonments. 


126  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

SUMMARY. 

We  have  now  brought  the  account  of  our  Mission  down  to 
the  13th  of  May,  1857,  just  two  years  and  three  months  from 
the  day  of  our  landing  in  India.  "The  First  Annual  Report" 
of  our  Mission  was  dated  the  12th  of  February',  1857,  covering 
just  two  whole  years  from  the  time  of  our  arrival  in  India. 
Some  may  regard  that  date  as  a  suitable  point  of  time  at  which 
to  make  a  break  in  our  narrative.  But  we  have  chosen  the 
13th  of  May,  1857,  three  months  later,  as  a  better  point  at 
which  to  give  a  summary  view  before  proceeding  further. 

The  Mission  force  at  that  time  was  as  follows:  Foreign  Mis- 
sionaries: A.  Gordon,  E.  H.  Stevenson,  and  R.  A.  Hill,  with 
their  wives,  and  Miss  E.  G.  Gordon;  Native  Catechists:  G.  W. 
Scott,  and  E.  P.  Swift. 

This  force  was  organized  as  follows:  The  Missionary  Asso- 
ciation, usually  styled  "The  Sial'kot  Mission,"  and  consisting 
of  the  three  ordained  missionaries,  was  organized  about  the 
beginning  of  November,  1856,  for  the  transaction  of  such  busi- 
ness as  must  be  reported  to  our  Board  of  Foreign  Missions 
in  America ;  the  Presbytery  of  Sial'kot,  consisting  also  of  the 
three  ordained  missionaries,  was  constituted  on  the  i8th  of 
December,  1856,  subordinate  to  the  Associate  Presbyterian 
Synod  of  North  America;  the  congregation  of  Sial'kot  was 
organized  in  the  latter  part  of  December,  1856,  consisting  of 
the  missionaries  and  native  assistants,  and  their  families — 
eleven  persons  in  all,  E.  P.  Swift  being  elected  and  ordained 
as  a  ruling  elder. 

The  work  begun  may  be  stated  as  follows  : 

1.  Evangelistic  work  had  been  in  progress  about  one  year 
in  the  form  of  daily  preaching  in  the  city,  and  weekly  preach- 
ing at  the  Gharib'kha'na  (Poor  House).  The  gospel  had  been 
preached  in  many  villages  and  at  two  melas.  Hundreds  of 
religious  books  and  portions  of  the  Bible,  donated  to  us  from 
the  Ludhia'na  Mission  press,  had  been  freely  distributed. 

2.  Educational  work  was  commenced  in  three  distinct  de- 
partments— the  theological  training  of  the  two  catechists  in 


BEGINNINGS   OF    MISSION    WORK.  12/ 

view  of  their  licensure  and  ordination ;  primary  instruction, 
both  EngHsh  and  vernacular,  in  a  school  on  the  South  Mis- 
sion premises,  established  for  the  children  of  the  missionaries 
and  assistants,  and  the  orphans;  and  the  city  school  for  non- 
Christian  boys,  with  seventy  pupils  under  Bible  and  secular 
instruction. 

3.  The  Orphanage  contained  at  that  time  two  little  boys  and 
one  little  girl. 

4.  A  class  of  inquirers  was  under  instruction. 

5.  With  regard  to  building,  two  mission  houses  and  two 
native  assistants'  houses  had  been  completed  on  the  South 
Mission  premises,  and  a  third  mission  house  had  been  pro- 
cured with  the  North  Premises. 

6.  The  study  of  the  languages,  it  should  be  mentioned,  was 
still  the  principal  work  of  the  foreign  missionaries,  the  oldest 
of  whom  were  just  beginning  to  speak  it  in  public. 

'The  results  of  our  work,  thus  far,  showed  no  converts.  A 
number  of  persons  professing  to  be  inquirers  were  enrolled  as 
such,  and  among  these  were  two  or  three  of  whom  we  could 
say  we  were  hopeful.  One  of  them,  blind,  and  a  Muhamma- 
dan,  whose  name  was  Ib'rah'im',  we  have  good  reason  to  think 
was  a  true  believer,  although  he  was  never  baptized.  He 
earnestly  requested  us  to  administer  this  rite  to  him,  and  pro- 
fessed to  believe  in  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit;  but  we 
put  him  off  for  the  sake  of  a  little  longer  probation,  and  during 
the  political  storm  which  soon  afterwards  arose,  we  lost  sight 
of  him.  I  have  always  regarded  this  as  an  instance  in  which 
we  acted  over-cautiously. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

THE   SEPOY*    MUTINY. 

ARRIVAL  OF  THE  REV.  THOMAS  HUNTER  AND  "WIFE  IN  SIAL^KOT — LO- 
CATION OF  HIS  MISSION  UNDECIDED — HARMONY  BETWEEN  HIM  AND 
OUR  MISSION — HOT  "WINDS — SUDDEN  NE"WS  OF  THE  SEPOY  MUTINY — 
PANIC — CONSULTATION  WITH  ENGLISH  OFFICERS  ABOUT  OUR  SAFETY 
— REFUGE  IN  DR.  MCKAINCH'S  HOUSE — ALARMING  RUMOR — A  NIGHT 
OF  "WATCHING  AND  PRAYER — THE  FIRST  MUTINOUS  ACT — AT  THE 
MERCY  OF  ARMED  SEPOYS — INVITED  TO  THE  LAHOR  FORT — "WILL  NOT 
DISARM  HIS  SEPOYS — MR.  HUNTER'S  PROPOSAL — SIAL^KOT  WITHOUT 
EUROPEAN  SOLDIERS — RETURN  TO  THE  SOUTH  MISSION  PREMISES — ■ 
STATE  OF  THE  COUNTRY — OUR  FAMILIES  TO  GO  TO  LAHOR  FORT — 
THE  HUNTERS  DECLINE  GOING  ALONG — OUR  JOURNEY  THITHER — 
OTHERS  FOLLO"W  US  TO  LAHOR — THE  HUNTERS  AGAIN  INVITED  BUT 
DECLINE — "CAN  START  ON  A  FIVE  MINUTES*  WARNING" — SHALL  WE 
TAKE  OUR  SICK  TO  THE  HILLS? — SIR  JOHN  LAWRENCE  AND  THE 
PANJAB^ — DEATH-BED  SCENE — ANNOUNCEMENT  OF  THE  SIAL^KOT 
MASSACRE. 

ABOUT  the  close  of  the  year  1856,  the  Rev.  Thomas  Hun- 
ter and  his  wife,  missionaries  of  the  Church  of  Scotland, 
arrived  at  Sial'kot.  When  they  set  out  for  this  field  with  the 
design  of  opening  in  it  a  new  mission,  they  seem  not  to  have 
been  aware  that  it  was  already  efficiently  occupied,  whilst  other 
needy  and  inviting  fields  lay  before  them.  It  was  of  no  great 
importance,  however,  where  they  should  sojourn  for  a  year  or 
two  whilst  devoting  themselves  to  the  study  of  the  language, 
and  their  permanent  location  was  not  urgent.  Mr.  Hunter 
conferred  with  us  on  this  subject,  and  it  was  not  fully  settled 
in  his  mind  whether  he  should  establish  his  headquarters  in 
the  Sial'kot  District,  or  some  other  one.  If  he  should  take 
the  former  course,  he  proposed  to  occupy  that  portion  of  Sial'- 

*  Sepoy,  a  native  soldier  in  British  service. 
(128) 


THE    SEPOY    MUTINY.  1 29 

kot  lying  north  of  the  Waz'i'rabad'  road;  if  the  latter,  he 
thought  of  removing  to  Jhi'lam.  Our  minds  were  soon  di- 
verted from  this  subject,  leaving  it  thus  unsettled. 

During  our  interviews  at  that  time,  and  our  frequent  meet- 
ings in  the  perilous  times  which  followed,  the  utmost  cordiality 
existed  between  the  Hunters  and  the  members  of  our  mission. 
Christian  sympathy  and  fellowship,  a  lively  interest  in  the 
same  great  work  under  the  same  Divine  Master,  and  the  dan- 
gers to  which  we  were  alike  exposed  in  a  foreign  land — all 
combined  to  produce  and  cherish  the  warmest  personal  friend- 
ship between  us. 

As  when  the  chilling  blast  of  December  from  the  frigid 
north  sweeps  down  upon  the  United  States,  driving  pulverized 
snow  through  every  key-hole  and  crevice,  imperilling  the  life 
of  every  one  who  ventures  out,  so  the  hot  wind  of  an  Indian 
May  and  June,  surcharged  with  double-refined  dust,  penetrates 
our  dwellings,  withers  and  scorches  those  who  expose  them- 
selves, and  sets  all  our  foreign  blood  simmering. 

It  was  near  the  middle  of  May,  1857;  the  wheat  and  barley 
fields  reaped  close  to  the  bare  clay,  exposed  their  surface  to 
the  sun's  perpendicular  rays;  hot  air  quivered  over  the  plain, 
and  the  atmosphere  was  all  ablaze;  thatched  shades  had  been 
erected  over  our  doors  to  break  the  glare;  khaskhas  mats  had 
been  placed  in  the  doorways,  with  water  at  hand  for  sprink- 
ling; windows  had  been  darkened,  pan'kJi'ds  swung  up,  and 
arrangements  made  in  general  for  keeping  the  heat  out,  and 
maintaining  a  cool  temperature  within;  and  to  avoid  all  need- 
less exposure,  the  programme  for  out-door  work  had  been 
shifted  to  the  cooler  hours  of  the  morning  and  evening — when 
suddenly  the  horrors  of  the  Sepoy  Rebellion  burst  upon  us  like 
a  desolating  cyclone.  At  9  a.  m.  on  the  14th  of  May,  a  mes- 
senger dressed  in  uniform  and  mounted  on  a  fleet  horse,  came 
dashing  up  to  our  door,  bearing  a  note  from  the  Deputy  Com- 
missioner, Chief  Magistrate  of  the  District,  containing  these 
startling  words: 

My  Dear  Mr.  Gordon  : — Please  suspend  your  preaching  for  a  season — espe- 
9 


130  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

cially  do  not  allow  your  native  preachers  to  go  about.  Have  you  heard  that 
Delhi  has  been  taken  by  the  mutineers,  and  the  Eu7-opean  population  massacred ? 
This  reached  me  last  night  by  express.  The  Dak  [post]  is  cut  off,  and  the  elec- 
tric telegraph  broken.     Please  do  not  mention  this  to  any  native. 

Yours  sincerely,  H.  Monckton. 

A  little  later  on  the  same  morning  another  friend  wrote  to 
us  that  the  3rd  Light  Cavalry  from  Mi'rat  had  captured  the 
bridge  of  boats  at  Delhi;  that  the  54th  Native  Infantry  Regi- 
ment at  Dehli,  being  ordered  out  against  them,  refused  to  obey, 
killed  their  own  English  officers,  and  joined  the  mutinous  cav- 
alry; that  the  native  population  of  Delhi  had  risen  in  insur- 
rection; that  Mr.  Frazer  the  Commissioner,  Capt,  Douglas 
commanding  the  Palace  Guards,  and  Mr.  Beresford  Manager 
of  the  Delhi  Bank,  were  among  the  murdered;  that  all  the 
English  residents  at  Delhi  expected  the  same  fate,  and  that  the 
Delhi  magazine  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  mutineers. 

Still  a  little  later  came  the  news  that  a  body  of  European 
troops  had  been  attacked  whilst  at  church  on  the  Sabbath — 
of  course  unarmed — that  the  mutiny  had  extended  to  other 
stations,  some  of  them  nearer  to  us  ;  that  women  and  children 
were  7iot  spared  in  the  general  massacre,  and  that  the  same 
dreadful  scenes  might  any  hour  be  repeated  in  Sial'kot. 

When  these  tidings  began  to  reach  us  it  was  meal-time,  and 
■  our  table  was  spread;  but  the  children  alone,  too   young  to 

•  comprehend  the  danger  of  our  situation,  felt  any  inclination  to 

•  eat.  One  of  the  little  ones  had  fever,  and  Dr.  J.  C.  Graham, 
our  family  physician,  had  forbidden  its  exposure  to  out-door 
heat  between  sunrise  and  sunset.  At  that  season  and  under 
such  circumstances  the  thought  of  flight  was  peculiarly  pain- 
ful, even  had  we  known  where  to  find  safety.  Between  us  and 
the  nearest  sea-board  town,  with  fourteen  hundred  miles  of 

:  staging  as  the  fastest  mode  of  travel,  a  thousand  deaths  inter- 
vened.     Successful   disguise   was   exceedingly  difficult.     We 
could  easily  change  our  costume  and  complexion,  if  that  were 
.  all ;  but  to  walk  and  talk,  eat  and  drink  without  betraying  our- 
: selves,  would  perhaps  be  impossible;  nor  could  we  conceal 


THE    SEPOY    MUTINY,  I3I 

ourselves  in  a  dark  hole  and  lie  dormant,  as  some  animals  do 
in  order  to  escape  observation.  Yet  we  all  instinctively  set 
about  bundling  up  a  few  necessary  articles  ready  to  be  snatched 
and  carried  with  us  whithersoever  a  sudden  emergency  might 
impel  us. 

These  hasty  preparations  for  flight  were  made  secretly,  for 
it  was  impossible  to  know  who  could  be  trusted.  We  met, 
prayed,  consulted,  devised  plans — all  the  while  most  anxious 
lest  we  might  betray  our  inward  commotion  to  those  about  us, 

"Do  t/iej/ know  whdit  we  know?"  we  whispered  anxiously 
one  to  another,  "  Our  very  appearance  must  reveal  to  them 
that  something  appalling  is  apprehended.  Surely  they  cannot 
fail  to  see  anxious  forebodings  written  in  our  very  faces. 
Hark  !  Have  our  Sepoys  risen?  Is  that  the  sound  of  arms,  or 
only  the  fireworks  of  some  wedding  party  ?  Who  are  these 
native  troopers  galloping  at  such  unusual  speed  ? — Oh  !  these 
dark  visaged  Moslems  and  pagans  of  solemn  mien — how  sul- 
lenly they  seem  to  move  about !  How  deceitful  and  treacher- 
ous we  know  them  to  be !  If  they  have  heard  it,  why  should 
they  feign  absolute  ignorance  ?  Their  silence  is  omninous ! 
They  would  sell  our  heads  for  a  penny  apiece ;  and  every  one 
of  them  looks  as  if  he  might  be  an  assassin  waiting  his  oppor- 
tunity. 

"Oh,  let  us  disguise  ourselves  and  fly!  But  how,  and 
whither?  A  tropical  sun  is  blazing  overhead;  an  open  plain 
— stretching  out  indefinitely  on  every  side — is  swarming  with 
natives ;  and  we  are  strangers  in  a  strange  land.  Truly,  there 
is  but  a  step  betwixt  us  and  death ! " 

Thus,  anxious  thoughts  rushed  tumultuously  as  we  looked 
on  our  wives  and  babes,  and  pondered  the  words :  "  Women 
and  children  are  not  spared  in  the  general  massacre"  which  may 
begin  here  any  hour  ! 

Eight  hours  of  awful  suspense  dragged  slowly  and  solemnly 
by,  and  at  five  o'clock  p.  m.,  Messrs.  Hill  and  Scott  and  my- 
self, ventured  out  through  the  native  city,  and  as  far  as  Mr, 
Monkcton's  residence,  the  Headquarters  of  the  District  Civil 


132  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Authorities.  Our  object  was  to  see  whether  we  could  obtain 
any  hght  as  to  what  was  best  for  us  to  do.  Capt.  C.  A.  Mc- 
Mahon,  the  Assistant  Commissioner,  and  the  Rev.  W.  Boyle, 
the  Chaplain,  were  seated  at  the  dinner  table  with  Mr.  Monck- 
ton,  their  host — not  eating,  but  endeavoring  to  go  through  the 
form,  for  the  purpose  of  keeping  up  appearances  before  the 
ftative  servants.  Muhammadan  waiters  in  snow-white  cos- 
tume, girded  about  the  waist  with  redundant  girdles,  were 
standing  behind  their  masters,  as  solemn  as  elders,  ever  and 
anon  gliding  out  and  in  as  noiselessly,  on  their  bare  feet,  as  if 
they  had  been  so  many  black-faced  ghosts ;  and  all  direct  allu- 
sion, in  their  hearing,  to  impending  .dangers  was  studiously 
avoided.  No  satisfactory  answer  to  our  inquiries  was  given, 
or  could  be  given  by  Mr.  Monckton,  for  he  was  himself  greatly 
perplexed,  and  knew  not  what  to  do.  Even  the  band  of  native 
policemen  quartered  near  his  house,  instead  of  being  any 
longer  a  source  of  confidence  and  strength,  had  become  a 
source  of  weakness  and  danger.  Upon  our  departure,  Mr. 
Boyle  accompanied  us  to  the  door,  and  very  distinctly  do  I 
remember  the  excited  manner  in  which,  glancing  around  to 
make  sure  there  were  no  listeners,  he  addressed  Brother  Scott 
thus : 

"  Now,  Scott,  is  the  time  for  j^ou.  You  are  a  native,  and  you 
know  the  natives.  If  you  can  obtain  information  for  the  Gov- 
ernment you  will  be  well  rewarded." 

We  then  drove  over  to  the  residence  of  Col.  Dawes.  The 
veteran  soldier  was  self-possessed  and  cheerful,  as  well  he 
might  be,  with  his  battery  of  artillery,  manned  by  good  faith- 
ful European  soldiers  around  him.  Still  he  felt  it  necessary 
to  converse  in  a  quiet  tone,  occasionally  dropping  a  sentence 
in  the  middle,  or  finishing  it  enigmatically  when  he  saw  natives 
approaching,  because,  as  he  remarked,  many  of  them  knew 
enough  English  to  catch  a  word  here  and  a  word  there,  and 
make  out  the  subject  of  our  conversation.  A  little  west  of 
Col.  Dawes'  house,  was  the  residence  of  Dr.  McKainch,  and 
as  the  Doctor  and  his  family  had  left  for  the  hills,  Col.  Dawes 


THE   SEPOY    MUTINY.  1 33 

advised  us  to  occupy  the  house  for  the  present,  believing  this  to 
be  better  than  remaining  in  our  isoloted  situation  beyond  the  city. 

As  soon  as  our  mission  band  had  taken  refuge  in  this  place 
of  comparative  safety,  a  rumor  spread  throughout  the  Canton- 
ment that  the  Sepoys  purposed  to  mutiny  that  very  night,  and 
murder  all  the  English.  In  case  they  should  mutiny,  we  were 
instructed  to  escape  if  possible  to  the  barracks  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  north  of  the  house.  Our  company  separated 
into  two  bands  for  the  night,  one  of  which  remained  within 
the  house  engaged  in  prayer,  whilst  the  other  kept  watch  from 
the  house-top.     Happily  no  outbreak  took  place  that  night. 

The  military  force  quartered  in  the  Sial'kot  cantonments  at 
that  time  consisted,  in  the  first  place,  of  two  regiments  of  na- 
tive infantry — the  35th  and  46th — each  being  about  800  strong; 
and  the  9th  Regiment  of  native  cavalry — making  in  all  about 
2,200  Sepoys.  These  were  commanded  by  English  officers, 
drilled  under  English  discipline,  armed  and  equipped  in  the 
best  manner  like  the  English  troops,  and  were  the  doubtful 
and  dangerous  element.  In  the  second  place,  there  were  the 
52d  European  Infantry  Regiment,  800  strong,  and  Col.  Dawes' 
Battery  of  Artillery — an  aggregate  of  900  European  soldiers, 
who  could  be  thoroughly  relied  upon. 

Although  native  Sepoys  were  very  effective  when  well  com- 
manded, they  were  not  so  when  deprived  of  their  English  offi- 
cers— ten  regiments  of  them  in  the  latter  case  being  estimated 
in  those  times  as  about  equal  to  one  European  regiment. 

The  first  mutinous  act  of  a  Sepoy  regiment  usually  was  to 
shoot  down  their  own  English  officers;  this  was  generally 
understood  to  be  a  signal  for  beginning  the  indiscriminate 
butchery  of  all  white  men,  women  and  children,  pillaging 
houses,  seizing  treasure,  and  burning  buildings;  and  after  this 
they  sought  to  concentrate  at  the  great  strongholds  of  the 
country,  particularly  Delhi  and  Lucknow.  Indeed,  evident 
symptoms  of  a  poorly  concerted  scheme  for  putting  an  end  to 
English  rule  were  spreading  rapidly  among  the  70,000  Sepoys 
of  the  British  army  in  North  India. 


134  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

At  such  a  critical  time  it  was  not  possible  for  the  government 
to  keep  at  each  of  the  numerous  stations,  so  widely  distributed 
over  the  country,  a  company  of  British  soldiers  to  protect 
a  few  English  families.  The  British  Indian  empire  must  be 
saved,  and  every  British  soldier  must  help  to  save  it.  Accord- 
ingly a  strong  movable  column  was  formed  at  Amrit'sar  to  in- 
tercept mutineers  who  should  try  to  reach  Delhi  from  the  north 
and  west.  Two  or  three  days,  therefore,  after  we  had  gone  up 
to  Dr.  McKainch's  house,  we  saw  two-thirds  of  our  European 
force  marching  away  to  join  this  column;  and  shortly  after- 
wards the  remainder  followed,  taking  with  them  the  35th  Na- 
tive Infantry  Regiment,  and  leaving  from  forty  to  fifty  English 
families  at  the  mercy  of  1,400  armed  Sepoys  whenever  they 
might  choose  to  begin  their  bloody  work. 

On  removing  the  English  troops.  Sir  John  Lawrence,  then 
at  the  head  of  the  Panjab'  government,  announced  that  he 
could  not  be  responsible  for  the  safety  of  families  who  should 
choose  to  remain  at  Sial'kot  and  similar  out-stations;  but  that 
they  would  be  welcome  to  take  refuge  in  the  Labor  Fort. 
Very  few  availed  themselves  of  this  offer,  although  the  prob- 
ability of  an  outbreak  in  Sial'kot  sooner  or  later  was  daily  in- 
creasing. The  truth,  I  suppose,  judging  from  my  own  experi- 
ence, was  that  after  the  first  panic  had  subsided  a  little,  reaction 
set  in;  and  many  were  nerved  to  such  a  degree  as  to  disregard 
dangers  which  they  knew  to  be  real.  There  was  also  a  pre- 
vailing sentiment  that  we  must  not  do  anything  that  would 
betray  our  fears.  The  whole  country  was  really  in  a  very  de- 
fenceless condition.  The  enemy,  if  posted  as  to  all  the  circum- 
stances, could  doubtless  have  easily  overpowered  the  govern- 
ment and  the  entire  foreign  population.  To  many,  therefore, 
the  safest  course  seemed  to  consist  in  putting  on  a  bold  front. 
They  feared  that  if  they  should  betray  their  fears  they  might 
embolden  the  enemy,  and  bring  on  an  uprising  which,  through 
sheer  force  of  numbers,  would  be  irresistible.  This  theory, 
no  doubt  correct  in  general,  was  in  some  cases  pushed  to  the 
foolish  extreme    of    neglecting    all    precautionary    measures. 


THE   SEPOY    MUTINY.  I  35 

Some  appeared  to  believe  that  there  really  was  very  little  dan- 
ger. Dr.  J.  Graham,  the  Superintending  Surgeon,  with  his 
daughter,  lived  in  splendid  style — in  the  finest  residence  in  the 
whole  station.  Mr.  Stevenson  and  I  called  on  him  to  have  a 
talk  about  the  rebellion,  and  the  cheerful,  hope-inspiring  man- 
ner in  which  this  hale  Scotch  gentleman  viewed  the  whole 
business  was  remarkable.  He  said,  among  other  things,  that 
he  had  several  hundred  thousand  rupees  in  the  Delhi  Bank, 
the  safety  of  which  depended  on  the  result  of  this  struggle;  but 
he  gave  himself  no  concern,  feeling  confident  that  the  govern- 
ment would  retake  Delhi  in  a  few  days  with  ease. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  was  a  strong  sentiment  in  favor  of 
disarming  the  Sepoys.  This  was  done  in  some  places,  and  if 
it  had  been  done  generally  throughout  India  at  the  time  of  the 
first  outbreak,  many  of  the  horrible  massacres  of  the  Sepoy 
Mutiny  never  would  have  taken  place.  But  there  was  a  diffi- 
culty. Many  military  officers  found  it  quite  impossible  to 
believe  that  any  danger  was  to  be  apprehended  from  the  Se- 
poys of  their  own  command.  Other  Sepoys  might  prove  to  be 
traitors,  but  their  "boys"  were  above  suspicion,  and  must  not 
be  subjected  to  the  dishonor  of  having  their  arms  taken  away. 
The  officer  in  command  at  Sial'kot  refused  to  disarm  his  Se- 
poys. He  was  opposed  to  the  organization  of  English  and 
other  Christian  residents  for  self  defence,  and  to  precautionary 
measures  of  every  kind.  He  even  opposed  prayer-meetings, 
denouncing  them  as  conventicles,  and  making  use  of  his  official 
authority  to  suppress  them.  Mr.  Hunter  and  a  number  of 
religious  officers  and  others,  who  held  meetings  for  prayer, 
had  a  serious  controversy  with  him  on  this  subject.  At  one 
time  he  went  so  far  as  to  threaten  to  hang  Mr.  Boyle,  the 
Chaplain.  It  was  in  reference  to  his  order  forbidding  us  to 
meet  together  for  prayer  and  conference,  that  Mrs.  Hunter 
said  with  much  spirit  and  earnest  feeling,  We  will  continue  to 
hold  our  meetings,  and  I  will  attend  them,  if  he  shoidd  take  off 
my  head  for  it!' 

After  we  had  gone  to  Dr.  McKainch's  house,  perhaps  the 


136  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

next  day,  Mr.  Hunter  called  on  us  and  proposed  that  we 
should  all  go  together  to  the  Lahor  Fort.  He  said  he  could 
study  the  language  there  as  well  as  in  Sial'kot,  and  appeared 
decidedly  anxious  to  be  off,  and  to  have  us  join  him  in  the 
move.  We  too  were  quite  willing  to  go,  and  would  have  gone 
at  that  time,  but  the  Delhi  Bank,  in  which  we  deposited  our 
funds,  had  been  plundered,  and  the  manager,  Mr.  Beresford, 
murdered ;  being  thus  left  without  any  ready  money,  and  con- 
sequently unable  to  make  the  journey  immediately,  we  post- 
poned it  for  the  present 

A  few  days  later  we  began  to  re-consider  our  situation.  The 
English  soldiers  were  nearly  all  gone  from  Sial'kot,  and  the 
rest,  with  the  exception  of  about  twenty  invalids,  were  under 
orders  to  leave;  there  was  no  organization  for  self-defence; 
there  was  no  concerted  plan  of  escape;  1,400  armed  Sepoys 
lay  quartered  within  rifle  shot  of  us.  The  place,  therefore,  to 
which  we  had  come  for  safety  had  now  become  the  most  un- 
safe one  that  could  possibly  have  been  selected;  and  so,  on  the 
25th  of  May,  we  all  ventured  back  through  the  native  city  to 
our  mission  houses  on  the  south  premises,  there  to  wait  and 
see  how  it  would  go  with  us. 

A  few  muskets  were  lent  to  us  by  a  friend,  who  thought 
they  might  be  useful  in  self-defense  in  case  we  were  attacked 
by  a  small  party  only.  Some  one  of  our  number  was  set  to 
watch  every  night  on  the  house-top;  meetings  for  prayer  were 
held;  stores  of  new  clothing,  which  had  been  brought  out  by 
us  from  America,  were  distributed  among  the  poor.  Some  of 
the  ladies  tried  the  experiment  of  disguising  themselves  by 
dressing  like  native  women,  and  tying  a  little  money  in  the 
corners  of  their  chadars  in  native  fashion;  but  they  soon  be- 
■came  discouraged,  and  abandoned  the  thought  of  escaping  by 
■such  means;  because,  whilst  they  might  succeed  under  the 
•cover  of  night,  yet  when  day  would  return  they  could  neither 
escape  detection  nor  endure  the  heat.  The  country  was  be- 
coming more  and  more  unsettled,  and  the  dangers  of  our  situ- 
.ation  were  hourly  increasing.     The  centenary  day  of  the  bat- 


THE   SEPOY    MUTINY.  1 3/ 

tie  of  Plassey — the  23d  of  June,  1857 — was  at  hand,  and  the 
impression  was  on  the  native  mind  that  the  British  East  Indian 
Empire,  which  had  begun  from  the  date  of  that  battle,  was  to 
last  exactly  one  hundfed years,  and  no  longer.  Rumors  were 
afloat  of  traffic  in  arms  and  ammunition  being  carried  on  in 
various  parts  of  the  country;  conspiracies  were  being  con- 
cocted; plans  for  a  general  insurrection,  involving  the  massacre 
of  the  entire  Christian  population,  were  coming  to  light.  And 
once  more  we  took  into  serious  consideration  the  question  of 
making  another  attempt  to  reach  a  place  of  safety. 

About  this  time  Capt.  C.  M.  Fitzgerald  very  kindly  offered 
us  a  loan  of  some  money;  and  it  was  agreed  that  I,  having  a 
sick  child,  should  go  to  Labor  with  the  women  and  children 
of  our  mission  families,  whilst  Messrs.  Stevenson,  Hill,  Swift 
and  Scott  should  remain  at  the  south  mission  premises  a  little 
longer. 

Before  starting  I  wrote  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hunter,  inviting 
them  to  accompany  us  to  Labor;  but  they  returned  a  note  of 
thanks,  in  which  they  declined  the  invitation. 

There  were  two  buggies  for  our  three  families;  and  at  9 
o'clock  p.  m.,  on  the  nth  of  June,  I  set  out  on  horseback  to 
escort  them  to  a  place  of  safety.  A  wearisome  and  perilous 
journey  of  seventy  miles  lay  before  us.  Though  our  immediate 
vicinity  was  still  free  from  actual  scenes  of  blood,  yet  an  out- 
break was  as  liable  to  take  place  there  as  elsewhere,  and  all 
was  uncertainty.  From  day  to  day  we  were  constantly  agi- 
tated by  fresh  tidings  of  garrisons  revolting,  now  in  this  station 
and  again  in  that  one.  Bloody  massacres  were  perpetrated, 
first  in  one  quarter  and  then  in  another.  Squads  of  mutinous 
Sepoys  were  at  large,  roving  about  the  country.  The  70,000 
Sepoys  in  North  India,  thoroughly  drilled  by  English  army 
officers,  were  rapidly  turning  against  us.  In  a  large  portion 
of  India  the  people  also  were  up  in  insurrection,  and  the  very 
air  was  filled  with  rumors  which  were  most  disheartening  and 
horrifying  to  the  mere  handful  of  foreigners. 

By  all  these  things  different  individuals  were  variously  af- 


138  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

fected.  It  was  well  that  some  of  us,  like  soldiers  after  the  first 
volley  or  two,  were  not  troubled  with  fear  after  the  first  few 
hours  of  panic.  But  these  mother's,  with  darling  babes  in  their 
arms  ! — how  could  they  thus  cast  off  fear  ?  As  I  moved  down 
the  road  towards  Gujranwa'la  with  my  precious  charge,  in  the 
solemn  stillness  of  that  fearful  night,  it  was  most  painful  to 
witness  the  forebodings  of  approaching  danger  from  which 
some  of  our  little  company  continually  suffered.  A  Persian- 
wheel  creaking  in  the  distance,  the  hoot  of  some  lonely  owl, 
a  bat  flitting  by  in  the  air,  would  cause  them  to  quake.  Im- 
agination transformed  almost  every  object  that  met  the  ear  or 
the  eye  into  a  murderous  Sepoy;  and  it  was  difficult  often  to 
persuade  them  that  these  imaginary  enemies  were  not  actually 
pressing  upon  us. 

On  meeting  a  company  of  kahdrs',  whose  ban'g'i  sticks  at 
first  sight  appeared  like  muskets,  we  were  all  startled;  but 
only  for  a  moment. 

Next  came  two  Sepoys,  who,  on  my  questioning  them, 
promptly  gave  loyal  answers,  and  passed  on.  In  one  instance 
I  was  compelled  to  admit  the  approach  of  something  which 
was  much  more  alarming:  The  sound  of  horses  feet  was  first 
heard  faintly  in  the  distance  ;  then  more  distinctly,  and  evidently 
approaching  nearer  and  nearer.  A  moment  later,  and  behold 
a  company  of  horsemen  galloping  up  the  road  toward  us  !  I 
bade  our  party  move  aside  to  the  left,  and  remain  perfectly 
quiet,  whilst  I  rode  a  little  forward,  and  halted  directly  between 
them  and  whatever  might  be  coming.  There  could  be  no 
mistake  this  time,  for  there  they  were — a  dozen  or  more  of 
real  Sepoys  formidably  armed  and  mounted  —  coming  right 
on  at  a  full  gallop!  I  had  a  pair  of  saddle-bags  under  me. 
Reaching  down  into  the  pouch  at  my  right,  I  grasped  a  loaded 
pistol  and  sat  thus  in  readiness,  thinking  it  would  be  right  to 
use  it  and  to  sacrifice  my  life  if  necessary  in  defence  of  my 
charge;  and  our  timid  little  company  sat  trembling,  when  the 
Sepoys,  dashing  up,  came  to  a  suden  halt  on  the  road  just 
beside  us.     Another  second,  and  they  were  galloping  on  their 


THE   SEPOY    MUTINY.  1 39 

way.  It  was  only  necessary  for  us  to  remember  a  well-known 
native  custom  in  order  to  perceive  that  their  halting  before 
they  passed  us  was  an  act  of  respect ;  and  thus  relieved,  we 
all  dared  to  breathe  once  more,  knowing  that  whatever  might 
be  in  the  hearts  of  these  Sepoys,  they  were,  up  to  the  present 
moment  at  least,  practically  loyal. 

At  sunrise  on  the  12th,  we  reached  the  traveler's  rest-house 
at  Gujranwa'Ia,  where  we  took  shelter  and  remained  until 
evening;  then,  continuing  our  journey  all  night,  we  made  the 
remaining  forty-two  miles,  and  entered  the  Labor  fort  at  8 
a.  m.  on  the  13th.  Our  journey  had  been  exceedingly  fatigu- 
ing— fourteen  hours  in  the  saddle,  for  me,  without  halting, 
in  order  to  accommodate  the  slow  pace  of  coolies  who  were 
employed  to  draw  one  of  the  vehicles — but  oh !  what  a  relief 
from  anxious  watching  to  know  that  high  walls,  gates  and 
bars,  and  loyal  men,  now  stood  between  us  and  the  treacher- 
ous Sepoys ! 

Three  or  four  days  later,  the  four  brethren  who  had  tarried 
at  the  south  mission  premises,  seeing  fresh  signs  of  danger, 
and  believing  that  nothing  was  to  be  gained  in  any  way  by 
their  remaining  longer,  decided  to  follow  us  to  the  Labor  fort. 
Before  leaving  Sial'kot,  Mr.  Stevenson  paid  the  Hunters  a 
visit,  in  order,  if  possible,  to  persuade  them  to  accompany  him 
to  Labor.  They  offered  no  good  reason  for  not  yielding  to 
his  entreaties.  They  had  a  small  bundle  of  clothing  and  other 
necessary  articles  in  readiness.  Even  the  nursery  lamp  for 
baby  and  a  supply  of  such  articles  of  food  as  it  would  require, 
were  placed  every  night  by  their  bed-side.  They  were  just 
"biding  their  time,"  as  poor  Mr.  Hunter  said,  and  holding 
themselves  ''in  readiness  to  start  at  five  minutes'  warning." 

Mr,  Stevenson  still  urged  them  to  come  along  with  him,  and 
insisted  that  if  it  should  come  to  a  matter  of  only  five  minutes' 
warning,  he  feared  it  might  then  be  too  late.  Failing  finally, 
to  accomplish  the  object  of  his  visit,  he  reluctantly  bid  them 
farewell,  and  came  to  the  Labor  fort  in  company  with  Messrs. 
Hill,  Swift,  and  Scott. 


140  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

From  the  exposure  of  the  past  four  weeks,  our  child  ap- 
peared to  be  growing  worse;  and  soon  after  reaching  the 
fort,  we  called  in  an  English  physician,  who  at  once  told  us 
that  in  the  intense  heat  of  the  plains  there  was  no  hope  of  its 
recovery,  but  that  he  thought  the  child  might  possibly  rally 
if  we  could  take  it  to  the  hills, 

Dharmsa'la,  the  nearest  "  Hill  Station,"  or  English  sana- 
torium, was  150  miles  distant,  requiring,  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances,  a  fatiguing  journey  of  four  nights  before  it 
could  be  reached.  The  exposures,  difficulties  and  perils  of  the 
journey  were  considered — we  had  never  been  to  the  hills,  and 
knew  not  whether  we  could  secure  a  house;  the  expense 
would  be  considerable,  whilst  we  had  no  ready  money;  the 
beginning  of  the  rains  was  daily  expected,  and  there  were 
seven  bridgeless  streams  to  cross,  at  any  or  all  of  which,  in 
the  rainy  season,  we  were  liable  to  be  detained  indefinitely  and 
without  shelter,  waiting  for  them  to  fall  sufficiently  to  be 
forded;  the  journey  was  therefore  not  undertaken. 

Safely  quartered  in  the  fort  along  with  other  missionaries, 
we  read  the  daily  bulletins  and  looked  on  with  sad  interest  at 
the  storm  raging  without.  Intense  anxiety  was  felt  by  us  for 
the  Presbyterian  and  other  missionaries  in  the  regions  of  Al'- 
lahabad'  and  Lucknow,  and  everything  regarding  them  was 
painfully  uncertain.  The  extensive  region  of  country  which 
lay  between  us  and  them  being  up  in  insurrection,  and  all  com- 
munication cut  off,  no  tidings  of  the  important  events  which 
occurred  at  Lucknow,  and  of  the  awful  tragedy  enacted  at 
Cawnpore,  reached  us  until  long  after  they  had  taken  place. 

Sir  John  Lawrence,  then  in  Labor  at  the  head  of  the  Pan- 
jab'  Government,  being  thus  cut  off  from  the  general  Govern- 
ment at  Calcutta,  was  necessarily  left  to  strike  out  his  own 
course  independently,  and  was  doing  what  many  others  would 
have  hesitated  to  undertake — organizing  and  drilling  an  army 
of  Sikh  Sepoys,  the  very  class  of  men  who,  less  than  ten  years 
before,  had  fought  against  the  British  in  defence  of  their  own 
native  Panjab'.     In  all  their  Eastern  wars  the  British  had  never 


THE    SEPOY    MUTINY.  I4I 

conquered  a  braver  and  more  determined  enemy  than  these 
very  Sikhs,  and  it  had,  up  to  that  time,  been  regarded  as 
utterly  unsafe  to  permit  them  to  carry  arms.  But  Sir  John, 
no  doubt  raised  up,  endowed  and  brought  into  position  for 
those  times  by  a  wise  and  merciful  overruling  Providence, 
proved  equal  to  the  occasion.  Being  not  only  a  great  and 
good  ruler,  but  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  Panjab'is,  and 
personally  popular  with  them,  he  perceived  that  whilst  the 
Sikhs  disliked  subjection  to  the  British  or  any  other  foreign 
power,  yet  they  hated  these  Pu'rab't^  Sepoys  so  intensely,  that, 
for  the  purpose  of  fighting  them,  he  could  safely  trust  them 
with  arms.  Accordingly,  he  dared  not  only  to  muster  in  new 
recruits,  but  to  enlist  old  soldiers  who  had  actually  fought 
against  the  British  in  the  recent  Sikh  wars.  Raising  and  drill- 
ing regiment  after  regiment  of  these,  to  the  number  of  about 
30,000  men,  he  hurled  them  against  Delhi  and  other  Sepoy 
strongholds,  and  India  was  saved. 

It  may  be  worth  noting  here,  that  I  had  in  my  possession  for 
many  years  a  private  letter  from  an  army  officer,  written  to  me 
soon  after  the  first  outbreak  in  May,  in  which  he  expressed 
his  confident  belief  that  the  whole  disturbance  would  be  quelled 
within  three  weeks.  But  Delhi  was  retaken  by  the  B]nglish 
only  after  a  struggle  of  four  months,  and  the  whole  country 
restored  to  order  after  a  period  of  eighteen  months. 

We  will  now  return  to  our  company  in  the  fort  at  Labor. 
No  one  there  kept  himself  so  well  posted  in  regard  to  what 
was  going  on  in  the  country  as  the  Rev.  G.  O.  Barnes.  On 
the  morning  of  the  nth  of  July  a  number  of  our  friends  had 
gathered  into  our  room;  our  little  Silas  was  dying,  and  we 
were  standing  around  his  couch  waiting  solemnly  to  see  the 
end.  The  little  sufferer  had  rarely  smiled  during  his  short 
life,  and  had  not  been  observed  to  do  so  even  once  during  the 
past  two  months;  but  now,  several  of  the  bystanders  distinctly 

*  Pu'rabi,  eastern ;  the  Sepoys  who  mutinied  were  from  Oudh  and  other  east- 
ern parts  of  India,  and  in  their  nationality,  religion  and  language,  widely  different 
from  the  people  of  the  Panjab''. 


142  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

observed  a  bright  smile  pass  over  his  face,  when  the  doctor, 
who  stood  bending  over  him,  remarked:  ''He  is  happy  now!" 
The  next  moment  Mr.  Barnes  entered  the  room  in  haste  with 
an  open  letter  in  his  hand,  saying,  with  deep  emotion :  ''Breth- 
ren, the  Sepoys  in  Sidl'kot  have  mutinied !  Geiieral  Brittd,  the 
coinmandi)ig  officer  of  the  station;  Doctor  J.  Graham,  the 
superintending  surgeon  ;  Dr.  J.  C.  Graham,  the  civil  surgeon  ; 
Captain  Bishop,  and  poor  Air.  and  Mrs.  Hunter  and  their  babe, 
have  all  been  murdered/"  My  heart  fills,  and  my  eyes  mois- 
ten, at  the  remembrance  of  that  moment  as  I  write  these  lines, 
more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  events, 

"  O  God,  the  heathen  are  come  into  thy  inheritance ;"  .    . 

"  The  dead  bodies  of  thy  servants  have  they  given  to  be 
meat  unto  the  fowls  of  the  heaven."  .    .    . 

"  Their  blood  have  they  shed  like  water."  ,    .    . 

"  Help  us,  O  God  of  our  salvation,  for  the  glory  of  thy  name ; 
and  deliver  us,  and  purge  away  our  sins  for  thy  name's  sake. 
Wherefore  should  the  heathen  say,  Where  is  their  God  ?  " 


CHAPTER  X. 

MUTINY    CONTINUED — TRAGEDIES    OF    THE    QTH    OF   JULY,    1 857. 

OUR  VISIT  TO  SIAL^KOT  AFTER  THE  OUTBREAK — DETAILS  OF  THE  QTH  OF 
JULY — REVOLT  EXPECTED — PRECAUTIONARY  MEASURES  OPPOSED — THE 
HUNTERS  ANXIOUS  TO  LEAVE  SIAL'KOT — MRS.  HUNTER'S  DREAM — A 
NIGHT  IN  MR.  HILL's  HOUSE — TO  BE  WARNED  IF  THE  SEPOYS  SHOULD 
RISE — THE  SEPOYS  HAVE  MUTINIED — MUTINY  OF  THE  DISTRICT  POLICE 
— "  COME  YOU  ALSO  AND  JOIN  US" — THE  HUNTERS  MISSED — THEIR 
COURSE  ON  LEAVING  MR.  HILL'S  HOUSE — HURMAT  KHAN  A  CHIEF 
MOVER  OF  THE  OUTBREAK —  HE  MURDERS  THE  HUNTERS —  DR.  J. 
GRAHAM  AND  HIS  DAUGHTER — A  DESPERATE  DRIVE — DR.  J.  GRAHAM'S 
DEATH — SIXTEEN  OF  THE  ENGLISH  CONCEALED  IN  A  COAL-HOUSE — 
FED  BY  A  MUHAMMADAN  SERVANT — THE  BLOOD-STAINED  BRACELETS 
— OUR  FAMILY  PHYSICIAN — "THAT  IS  MORTAL;  DRIVE  ME  TO  THE 
NrAREST  house!" — BRIGADIER  BRIND  MORTALLY  WOUNDED — CAP- 
TAIN BISHOP  AND  WIFE  —  A  RACE  FOR  PRECIOUS  LIFE  —  BODIES 
BROUGHT  IN  AND  BURIED — BEHAVIOR  OF  THE  SEPOYS — INCIDENTS  IN 
THE  46TH  NATIVE  INFANTRY  REGIMENT  —  BATTLE  FOUGHT  NEAR 
GURDA^SPUR — VILLAGERS  PLUNDER  SIAL^KOT  CANTONMENTS — HANG- 
ING PLUNDERERS — SAFETY — A  MUHAMMADAN  MELA — DELHI  RETAKEN 
— PECUNIARY  LOSSES  MADE  GOOD — HURMAT  KHAN'S  HAUNT  DISCOV- 
ERED— A  SHAM  WEDDING  PARTY  ENTRAPS  HIM — WRETCHED  HONORS 
PAID  TO   HIS  REMAINS — THE  FAITHFUL  REWARDED. 

AT  the  suggestion  of  Mr.  Hill,  he  himself,  Mr.  Scott  and  the 
writer,  mounted  our  ponies  on  the  evening  of  the  20th  of 
July,  and  rode  up  from  the  Lahor  fort  to  SiaKkot,  arriving  at 
the  south  Mission  premises  early  on  the  morning  of  the  22d. 
After  a  short  rest  we  went  all  around  the  Cantonments  and 
Civil  Station,  viewing  with  heavy  hearts  the  sorrowful  desola- 
tion. The  Court-House  had  been  burnt,  and  300  criminals 
turned  loose  from  the  District  prison.  No  European  building 
and  no  movable  property,  however  trifling  in  value,  had  escaped 
the  hands  of  the  spoilers.  Furniture,  tents,  clothing,  books, 
upholstery,  and  all  manner  of  English-made  articles,  either  had 

(143) 


144  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

been  carried  off,  or  torn  to  pieces  in  the  hope  of  finding  hidden 
treasures.  Doors,  bhnds,  and  other  wood-work  of  the  houses, 
had  been  torn  from  their  fastenings  and  carried  away. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  late  home  of  the  lamented  Hunter 
family,  our  hearts  were  saddened  indeed.  The  loveliest  place, 
perhaps,  this  side  of  Paradise,  is  a  well-ordered  Christian 
home.  But  now  this  home,  so  lovely,  so  orderly — where  we 
had  taken  sweet  counsel  together — had  become  a  heap  of 
ruins.  Not  only  furniture,  clothing,  books  and  manuscripts, 
but  mementoes  and  tokens  of  affection  which  had  been 
sacredly  private,  now  lay  strewn  about  the  desolate  place,  pro- 
fanely trodden  in  the  dust. 

Walking  out  to  Mr.  Hill's  house,  where  the  dear  Hunters 
had  spent  the  last  night  of  their  earthly  sojourn,  we  found  it 
more  completely  stripped,  perhaps,  than  any  other.  It  being 
isolated,  the  spoilers  had  taken  time  to  do  their  mischievous 
work  thoroughly.  Mr.  Hill,  observing  some  stray  papers  lying 
on  the  ground,  picked  up  one  of  them,  and  on  glancing  at  its 
contents  was  as  much  impressed  almost  as  if  the  paper  had 
spoken  audibly.  It  was  one  of  his  own  sermons,  headed  with 
the  text:  "The fashion  of  this  world  passeth  away."  Among 
other  relics,  a  valuable  portrait  of  his  deceased  child  was  re- 
covered from  a  heap,  much  disfigured. 

Slowly  and  sadly  making  the  entire  round  of  the  station, 
both  civil  and  military,  and  viewing  nothing  but  ruins,  we 
were  at  last  delighted  to  behold,  in  pleasing  contrast,  our  mis- 
sion houses,  south-west  of  the  city,  with  all  their  belongings, 
standing  entire  as  we  had  left  them  six  eventful  weeks  before. 
From  that  moment  they  assumed  in  our  eyes  a  fresh  beauty. 
For  myself,  I  felt  comforted  by  the  belief  that  our  All-wise 
Heavenly  Father,  whose  counsel  I  had  diligently  sought,  had 
guided  me  to  plant  those  mission  premises  in  that  particular 
spot;  for  their  escape  was  in  part  owing  to  their  location. 

Having  briefly  described  Sial'kot  as  we  saw  it  on  our  return 
from  Labor  two  weeks  after  the  outbreak,  we  will  now  go 
back  to  the  time  of  the  outbreak  itself,  and  give  a  few  details 
of  that  day  of  harrowing  memories — the  9th  of  July,  1857. 


?  \  3    Sc  a  J  e  /i  c  n  e  h  ft»  ?}it  ml  W 


SIALKOT     AINTD     VICINITY 

TO    ILLUSTRATE 

THE   S^POY     MUTINY    OF  1857, 


il 


THE   SEPOY   MUTINY.  145 

Late  in  June  and  early  in  July,  the  English  who  still  re- 
mained in  Sial'kot — about  one  hundred  in  number,  women  and 
children  included — were  convinced  that  their  situation  was 
daily  becoming  more  and  more  perilous.  The  Sepoys  at 
Jhilam  had  already  mutinied  and  had  succeeded  in  capturing 
a  piece  of  artillery  from  the  English.  Jhilam  was  the  next 
station  to  Sial'kot  on  the  north-west;  and  as  Sial'kot  lay  in 
their  way  when  they  would  go  from  that  point  towards  Delhi, 
an  outbreak  here  must  of  necessity,  it  was  believed,  take  place, 
and  began  to  be  looked  for  as  more  of  a  certainty  than  of  a 
mere  probability. 

The  Fort  of  Sardar  Teja  Singh,  who  had  been  the  chief  per- 
son in  the  late  Sikh  government  next  to  the  Maharaja  Ranjit 
Singh  himself,  was  still  standing  in  the  City  of  Sial'kot,  and  in 
a  good  state  of  repair.  Into  this  fort  the  government  treas- 
ure was  quietly  removed  from  the  Treasury  building  near  the 
Court- House.  The  Fort  was  also  provisioned,  and  other  pre- 
parations were  made  by  the  civil  magistrate  for  a  short  siege. 
Individuals  and  famihes  also  made  private  arrangements  among 
themselves  to  assist  one  another  in  effecting  their  escape.  But 
whilst  these  precautions  were  taken  by  the  civil  authorities 
and  private  parties,  the  officer  in  military  command  within  the 
cantonment  lines  refused  to  disarm  the  Sepoys,  and  persisted 
in  opposing  all  precautionary  measures,  of  whatever  kind. 

The  Rev.  Thomas  Hunter  and  wife  had  by  this  time  become 
very  anxious  to  leave  Sial'kot.  They  and  the  Rev.  W.  Boyle 
had  made  arrangements  to  proceed  together  to  the  Labor 
fort,  and  the  8th  of  July  was  the  time  set  for  starting.  But 
afterwards  an  order  came  to  Mr.  Boyle  from  his  superior  officer 
which  prevented  him  from  keeping  this  engagement,  and  he 
called  on  the  Hunters  to  apprise  them  of  the  fact. 

At  this  disappointment  and  delay  they  felt  much  uneasiness, 
realizing  more  and  more  the  imminent  danger  of  their  situa- 
tion. Their  house  was  in  the  south-east  corner  of  the  military 
Cantonment.  South-west  of  them,  between  their  house  and  the 
city  fort,  lay  the  Chief  Bazar,  with  a  large  native  population. 


146  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Should  they  even  succeed  in  reaching  the  City  in  safety,  they 
could  enter  the  Fort  only  after  passing  through  several  narrow 
streets,  which  were  thronged  with  natives.  Along  the  north 
border  and  down  the  west  end  of  the  cantonments  were  the 
Sepoy  lines ;  and  when  once  these  armed  Sepoys  should  begin 
their  bloody  work,  escape  would  seem  almost  impossible. 
Mrs.  Hunter,  moreover,  had  a  dream  about  that  time  which 
she  related  to  Mr.  Boyle:  She  dreamed  that  Mr.  Hunter,  her- 
self and  their  child,  were  attacked  and  murdered.  This  dream 
she  believed  to  be  a  warning  from  God,  and  an  indication  that 
they  should  immediately  leave  the  place.  We  can,  therefore, 
easily  understand  how  keenly  they  must  have  felt  the  delay. 
When  Mr.  Boyle  called  on  them  and  announced  it  as  una- 
voidable, poor  Mrs.  Hunter,  drawing  her  sweet  babe  of  eleven 
months  close  to  her  bosom,  passionately  exclaimed,  "  0,  do  let 
us  escape  at  once  from  this  horrible  place!" 

A  mile  and  a  half  west  of  the  cantonments  was  the  residence 
of  Mr.  Monckton,  the  Deputy  Commissioner,  and  close  by  it 
the  native  police  quarters;  a  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  on  was 
the  residence  of  the  Rev.  R.  A.  Hill,  then  vacant.  On  Capt. 
McMahon's  invitation,  the  Hunters  left  their  own  house  and 
came  out  to  lodge  near  him,  at  Mr.  Hill's  house,  on  the  evening 
of  the  8th  of  July.  Mr.  Boyle  lodged  with  Mr.  Monckton  at 
the  residence  of  the  latter,  and  with  them  two  others,  one  of 
whom  was  Capt.  McMahon,  the  Assistant  Commissioner ;  and 
it  was  agreed  that  this  party  should  warn  the  Hunters  in  case 
the  Sepoys  should  rise. 

The  first  half  of  that  night  Capt.  McMahon  kept  watch,  but 
the  man  who  was  entrusted  to  watch  the  remaining  half,  fell 
asleep.  At  four  o'clock  a.  m.  on  the  9th,  Capt.  McMahon's 
servant  heard  an  unusual  disturbance  down  at  the  jail  and 
awoke  his  master,  who,  aroused  from  a  sound  sleep,  was  about 
to  start  immediately  for  the  jail.  The  servant  earnestly  en- 
treated him  not  to  go,  saying,  "  Sa'hib,  the  jail  is  in  possession 
of  the  cavalry."  Captain  McMahon  then  stepping  to  the 
door,  saw  several  sepoys  of  the  9th  Cavalry  Regiment  gallop- 


THE   SEPOY    MUTINY.  1 4/ 

ing  through  the  Deputy  Commissioner's  garden  with  swords 
drawn,  and  Lieut.  Prinsep,  one  of  their  own  officers,  fleeing  be- 
fore them  for  his  hfe;  at  the  same  time  he  heard  a  continuous 
fire  of  musketry  in  the  cantonments.  He  knew  for  a  certainty 
then,  and  not  till  then,  that  the  Sepoys  had  mutinied. 

Taking  with  him  twelve  raw  Sikh  recruits,  he  hastened  to 
the  police  lines  a  few  rods  from  the  house,  and  ordered  the 
regular  police  force,  which  consisted  of  about  lOO  men,  to  ac- 
company him.  But  they  responded  only  by  angry  and  sullen 
looks;  not  a  man  of  them  would  obey  his  orders.  Several 
Sepoys  of  the  9th  Cavalry  were  there  before  him,  riding  about 
within  the  police  lines,  and  with  these  his  100  policemen  were 
found  to  be  in  full  sympathy,  ready  to  do  their  bidding.  One 
of  them  had  the  boldness  to  call  out  to  the  twelve  Sikhs  at 
Capt.  McMahon's  side:  "Come  you  also  and  join  us." 

Capt.  McMahon  looked  at  his  twelve  "boys,"  who  in  turn 
looked  hesitatingly  now  at  him  and  then  toward  the  rebels. 
The  weight  of  a  mere  feather  seemed  only  wanting  to  draw 
them  over.  "  Fifteen  years'  service  on  good  pay,"  said  Capt. 
McMahon,  "  with  a  liberal  pension  the  rest  of  your  lives. 
Are  you  ready  to  forfeit  all  this,  and  be  hanged  besides?" 

Raw  and  inefficient  as  these  few  men  were,  he  felt  relieved 
on  seeing  them  determine  to  stand  by  him  ;  and  still  more  was 
he  assured  of  their  faithfulness  when,  a  little  afterwards,  on 
some  armed  mutineers  threatening  him,  they  faced  the  enemy 
with  true  grit,  and  caused  them  to  turn  their  backs  and  march 
away. 

Capt.  McMahon,  moving  now  towards  Mr.  Hill's  house  to 
pick  up  the  Hunters,  met  Mr.  Boyle,  who  had  already  been 
there,  and  who  reported  that  the  Hunters  were  gone.  The 
party  then  turned  about  and  moved  towards  the  Fort,  taking 
a  by-road  west  of  the  jail.  For  a  time  it  was  believed  that  the 
Hunters,  on  leaving  Mr.  Hill's  house,  first  started  westward 
on  the  Wazi'rabad  road  in  the  hope  of  reaching  Labor,  and 
that,  finding  this  road  picketed,  they  turned  back  and  at- 
tempted   to  reach   the  Sial'kot  fort.       But  further   reflection 


148  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

renders  it  almost  certain  that  they  drove  from  Mr.  Hill's 
house  directly  towards  the  fort,  preceding  Capt.  McMahon's 
party  only  a  very  short  time,  and  unhappily  taking  the  more 
public  road  across  the  open  plain,  in  front  and  in  full  view  of 
the  jail,  from  which  the  criminals  and  desperadoes  of  the 
whole  District  were  just  being  uncaged.  Among  the  prisoners 
there  was  an  intelligent  lad — afterwards  received  into  one  of 
our  mission  schools — who  was  an  eye-witness  to  all  that  took 
place  in  front  of  the  jail. 

Hurmat  Khan,  a  man  of  great  size  and  strength  and  a  re- 
nowned swordsman,  had  been  employed  as  a  professional  flog- 
ger  at  the  Sial'kot  District  Court  House,  but  had  been  degraded 
from  this  position  by  Mr.  Monckton  a  short  time  before  the 
Sepoy  mutiny.  This  man,  "breathing  out  threatenings  and 
slaughter"  against  the  local  authorities,  and  being  in  sympathy 
with  his  fellew  Purab'is,  was  a  chief  mover  in  the  horrible  busi- 
ness of  the  9th  of  July.  First,  he  dispatched  several  horsemen 
to  pursue  and  if  possible  kill  Mr.  Monckton,  who,  although 
quite  ill,  managed  to  escape  to  a  place  of  concealment  in  a 
neighboring  village.  He  then  went  to  the  9th  Cavalry  lines, 
where  one  squadron  had  mutinied  and  the  other  two  were 
hesitating,  and  was  mainly  instrumental  in  forcing  them  to 
break  out.  After  this  he  went  down  to  the  city  to  murder  a 
court  clerk,  with  whom  he  had  had  a  quarrel  about  a  woman, 
which  had  resulted  in  his  own  degradation  from  his  late  posi- 
tion as  flogger.  Not  finding  the  clerk  at  home,  he  cut  down  a 
servant  at  the  door,  and  then  came  up  to  the  jail,  where  he,  in 
company  with  others,  was  liberating  the  criminals,  when  the 
Hunters  were  seen  driving  across  the  plain  in  full  view  of  the 
jail.  When  the  desperadoes  saw  Mr.  Hunter's  conveyance 
passing,  one  of  them  said  to  another,  "  Yonder  comes  a  carriage 
load  of  the  English;  who  will  go  and  kill  them?"  Others 
said,  "That  is  the  P'ddn  5a/«(^  (missionary)  and  his  family; 
they  have  done  us  no  harm ;  our  quarrel  is  with  the  Govern- 
ment." After  a  brief  discussion  of  this  kfnd  among  them- 
selves, no  one  else  being  willing  to  shed  innocent  blood  with- 


THE    SEPOY    MUTINY.  149 

out  cause,  Hurmat  Khan  went  himself  to  do  the  murderous 
deed.  Meeting  them  a  short  distance  north-east  of  the  jail, 
just  after  they  had  crossed  the  dry  bed  of  Palkhu  creek  on 
their  way  towards  the  fort,  he  first  shot  Mr.  Hunter,  then  cut 
down  Mrs.  Hunter  with  his  sword,  and  finally  killed  their 
child,  and  left  them  weltering  in  their  blood  upon  the  ground. 

Dr.  J.  Graham,  the  Superintending  Surgeon,  had  an  arrange- 
ment with  Dr.  Guise  and  Mr.  Smith,  that  whoever  of  them 
should  first  become  aware  of  danger,  that  one  would  warn  the 
others.  Quite  early  on  the  morning  of  the  9th,  Dr.  Guise,  dis- 
covering that  the  Sepoys  had  mutinied,  immediately  went  over 
to  Superintending  Surgeon  Graham's  house  to  apprise  him  of 
the  fact.  The  doctor  was  up  and  dressing,  but  his  daughter 
was  still  in  bed. 

"  Please  get  up,  daughter,"  said  he,  "  it  is  time  for  us  to  be 
out  enjoying  the  morning  air." 

There  was  nothing  in  this  gentle  call  to  alarm  any  one. 
The  Doctor  was  perhaps  too  much  averse  to  either  taking  or 
giving  alarm,  and  there  was  no  hurry  in  their  movements. 

Dr.  Guise  and  Mr.  Smith  grew  nervously  impatient.  From 
the  veranda  where  they  were  waiting  they  could  hear  the  shrill 
cracks  of  the  mutineers'  rifles,  and  thinking  it  imprudent  to 
wait  any  longer  for  Dr.  Graham,  they  determined  to  leave  him 
and  make  their  escape  if  possible.  Guise  started  first  on  foot. 
Smith  soon  followed  in  his  buggy  and  took  him  up,  when 
they  drove  through  the  Chief  Bazar,  and  down  the  road  that 
passes  east  of  the  City.  Seeing  mutineers  riding  to  and  fro  in 
their  rear,  they  drove  furiously  until  they  reached  the  large 
bridge  at  the  southeast  corner  of  the  city,  where  several  roads 
meet.     Here  they  suddenly  halted  for  a  hurried  consultation. 

Smith  had  thought  of  crossing  the  bridge  and  driving  away 
into  the  country,  with  some  vague  idea  of  reaching  Labor. 

"No,"  said  the  Doctor,  "there  is  danger  of  the  villagers  ris- 
ing, and  danger  from  sunstroke,  if  we  should  drive  out  into  the 
country;  let  us  turn  back  to  the  fort." 

"  Perhaps  we  may  not  be  able  to  get  through  the  city,"  said 


150  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Smith;  "a.  mile  through  the  public  streets  is  very  hazardous; 
but  I'll  try  it,  Doctor,  if  you  say  so." 

The  Doctor  began  to  doubt,  and  hesitatingly  inquired:  "But 
can  you  guarantee  that  the  people  of  the  city  have  not  risen?" 

"  Giiaratiteef  said  Smith.  "  No,  I  can't  guarantee  anything 
just  now!'  Then,  turning  the  horse,  they  dashed  through  the 
narrow  streets  of  the  city,  and  finding  themselves  still  alive  on 
reaching  the  fort  entrance,  they  dropped  the  reins,  leaped  from 
the  buggy,  and  passed  inside  of  the  massive  gates. 

Dr.  Graham  and  his  daughter,  after  a  too  deliberate  prepara- 
tion, ordered  their  buggy,  and  drove  away  to  the  west  end  of 
the  Cantonments,  and  turned  southward  towards  the  Fort, 
When  they  were  a  little  past  Gen.  Brind's  house.  Miss  Gra- 
ham saw  sawars'  (mounted  Sepoys)  galloping  about  away  off 
to  the  right,  nearly  in  the  direction  of  the  jail,  and  felt  alarmed. 

"  I  fear,"  said  she,  "  the  Sepoys  have  mutinied." 

"  O,  no,"  replied  her  father,  endeavoring  to  quiet  her  fears. 

"  But  do  you  see  those  sawars'  coming  across  the  race- 
course?" 

"  Yes,  my  child,  but  do  not  feel  alarmed ;  they  have  been 
at  the  riding-school,  and  are  returning." 

"But,  papa,  dear,  that  is  not  the  place  for  the  riding-school; 
and  I  see  two  of  them  coming  in  this  direction.  Oh,  I  am  so 
much  afraid  !  See  !  They  are  coming  at  a  gallop,  and  coming 
straight  towards  iisT 

The  Doctor  continued  to  drive  forward  unperturbed,  and 
the  buggy  moved  leisurely  towards  the  fort.  The  \.\nq  sawars' 
appeared  to  be  veering  northward,  as  if  they  would  pass  be- 
hind the  buggy.  But  on  reaching  the  road,  they  suddenly 
turned,  and  riding  up  close,  shot  Dr.  Graham  through  the 
body.  The  wound  was  mortal,  and  he  sank  heavily  against 
his  terror-stricken  daughter,  in  a  dying  condition.  Miss 
Graham  seized  the  reins  and  endeavored  to  support  her  dying 
father  as  well  as  she  was  able,  whilst  his  life-blood  flowed  fast, 
and  the  frantic  horse  ran  back  into  the  cantonments,  not  com- 
ing to  a  halt  until  after  reaching  the  compound  of  the  Gen. 


THE   SEPOY    MUTINY.  I5I 

Hearsey  house.  Here  the  terrified  and  heart-broken  young 
lady  sought  for  a  hiding-place,  whilst  a  faithful  native  watch- 
man carried  her  father's  corpse  into  a  stable  at  the  west  end 
of  the  house,  and  concealed  it  in  a  heap  of  straw. 

This  house,  which  was  occupied  at  the  time  by  Dr.  Butler 
and  Major  Saunders  and  their  families,  and  was  resorted  to 
by  others  on  that  dreadful  morning,  is  90  feet  wide  north  and 
south,  by  156  long  east  and  west,  with  a  large  hall  dividing  it 
lengthwise,  and  opening  at  the  west  end  through  a  great 
two- leaved  door  into  an  open  veranda.  Being  a  cool  house, 
richly  furnished,  and  so  very  large,  it  was  more  of  a  palace 
than  a  house.  The  east  rooms  look  out  into  a  court.  A  row 
of  three  out-ofifices  forms  the  east  side  of  this  court,  with  their 
only  doors  opening  into  it,  whilst  a  high  wall  encloses  its 
north  side,  and  another  high  wall  its  south  side,  through  the 
latter  of  which  a  door  opens  out  into  the  garden. 

It  is  said  that  Major  Saunders,  on  hearing  that  the  Briga- 
dier was  in  danger,  mounted  his  horse  and  rode  out  to  res- 
cue him,  but,  being  hotly  pursued  by  four  sawars'  of  the  9th 
Cavalry,  retreated  in  such  hot  haste  that  his  charger  did  not 
allow  him  to  dismount  until  he  had  passed  through  the  ver- 
anda and  large  door  into  the  hall. 

The  families  living  here,  on  perceiving  that  escape  was  im- 
possible, passed  out  at  the  east  end  of  the  house,  crossed  the 
court,  and  entered  one  of  the  three  out-offices  just  described, 
which  was  used  for  storing  charcoal.  As  far  as  mere  conceal- 
ment was  concerned,  this  coal-room  afforded  the  best  hiding- 
place  immediately  available  in  this  sudden  emergency.  But  it 
was  small,  and  heat  apoplexy  at  that  season  was  almost  as 
much  to  be  dreaded  as  the  Sepoy  bullet  and  bayonet.  In  this 
close,  hot  "  black  hole,"  more  like  a  bake-oven  than  a  human 
dwelling,  sixteen  persons,  including  gentlemen,  ladies,  chil- 
dren, and  nurses,  some  of  whom  were  suffering  at  the  time 
from  severe  illness,  and  one  of  whom  was  a  lady  confined  only 
three  days  before,  sought  refuge  from  the  bloodthirsty  Sepoys. 

Abdul  Razak,  an  exceptionally  faithful  Muhammadan  watch- 


152  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

man,  and  the  only  one  of  a  large  establishment  who  remained 
at  the  house,  discovered  their  hiding-place,  and  fed  them  with 
bread  and  water,  resisting  the  repeated  attempts  of  the  muti- 
neers to  find  them.  Whilst  these  sixteen  refugees  were  swel- 
tering and  trembling  in  the  coal-room,  the  proceedings  inside 
of  the  house — the  discharging  of  fire-arms,  the  ruthless  smash- 
ing of  furniture,  and  the  fiendish  yelling  of  the  Sepoys,  as  they 
rushed  madly  upon  the  spoils — sounded  to  them  more  like 
Pandemonium  than  anything  earthly.  Again  and  again  the 
faithful  watchman,  Abdul  Razak',  was  pressed  to  tell  where 
the  English  refugees  were.  The  four  sawdrs'  who  thirsted 
for  Major  Saunders'  blood,  took  Razak'  away  to  the  9th  Cav- 
alry lines,  and  offered  him  one  thousand  rupees  if  he  would 
tell  where  they  were  concealed;  but  he  insisted  that  he  knew 
not.  They  then  threatened  to  kill  him  if  he  would  not  inform 
them.  At  that  juncture  a  man  whom  he  had  at  some  former 
time  befriended,  stepped  forward  and  deliberately  affirmed  that 
he  had  just  seen  Major  Saunders  lying  dead  in  Palkhu  creek, 
north  of  the  cantonments.  Abdul  Razak'  being  then  released, 
found  the  way  back  to  his  charge  in  the  coal-room,  and  faith- 
fully cared  for  them  until  he  saw  them  all  safe  in  the  fort  at 
six  o'clock  in  the  evening. 

Sometime  during  that  day,  a  native  in  search  of  plunder 
entered  the  General  Hearsey  house,  passed  through  into  the 
court,  and  made  his  way  to  the  very  door  of  the  coal-room. 
At  the  top  of  the  door,  a  little  higher  than  a  man's  head,  was 
a  small  opening  left  for  ventilation,  through  which  an  outsider 
by  a  little  effort  could  look  in.  Stretching  himself  up  to  this 
ventilator,  the  covetous  intruder  was  peering  into  the  dark 
place  to  see  what  he  could  find.  This  fellow's  curiosity  would 
no  doubt  have  discovered  the  whole  party  and  imperiled  their 
lives;  but  one  of  the  gentlemen  inside  of  the  coal-room,  think- 
ing it  best  to  interrupt  his  proceedings,  drew  his  revolver  and 
blew  off  the  top  of  his  head.  Abdul  Razak',  being  quickly  at- 
tracted to  the  spot,  removed  the  body,  concealed  it  under  some 
shrubbery  in  the  garden,  and  soberly  warned  them  not  to  do 


THE   SEPOY    MUTINY.  I  53 

any  more  of  that  kind  of  work,  as  it  would  assuredly  lead  to 
their  discovery. 

Miss  Graham,  notwithstanding  her  endeavors  to  escape  dis- 
covery on  these  extensive  premises,  was  nevertheless  seen  by 
two  Sepoys.  Able  to  speak  the  Hindustani  language  fluently, 
she  made  a  pathetic  appeal  to  them,  which  touched  their  hard 
hearts,  and  promised  besides  to  reward  them  liberally  if  they 
would  spare  her  life.  The  Sepoys  mounted  their  horses  and 
were  leading  her  away  to  the  guard-house  of  the  46th  Native 
Infantry,  where  several  other  English  people  were  being  pro- 
tected, but  afterwards  at  her  request  procured  a  carriage  for 
her.  She  mounted  the  driver's  box  and  implored  them  not  to 
leave  her;  so  they  rode  one  on  each  side  and  escorted  her 
safely  to  the  guard-house,  whence  she  escaped  to  the  Fort  later 
in  the  day. 

This  young  lady  was  heiress  to  a  handsome  property ;  but 
what  were  riches  to  her  now?  As  she  sat  sadly  reflecting 
upon  what  had  happened,  her  eye  rested  accidentally  on  a  pair 
of  diamond  bracelets  which  adorned  her  fair  hands,  and  caught 
a  glimpse  of  blood-stains.  The  tragic  events  of  the  awful 
morning  were  instantly  before  her;  and  these  thoughts  flashed 
across  her  troubled  mind:  "  How  gently  my  dear  father  urged 
me  to  rise,  disregarding  what  his  courageous  spirit  deemed 
unnecessary  alarm  !  How  tenderly  he  sought  to  dispel  my 
rising  fears  at  the  sight  of  those  murderous  troopers !  "Alas, 
how  leisurely  I  arranged  my  toilet  when  moments  were  worth 
millions  !  Oh  that  we  had  made  haste T — and  she  dashed 
thv  bloody  ornaments  froi7i  her  sight  in  horror  !  Poor  bereaved 
child! 

Dr.  J.  C.  Graham,  who  was  the  civil  surgeon  of  the  station 
and  had  charge  of  the  extensive  medical  depot  in  Sial'kot,  was 
our  family  physician  as  well  as  that  of  our  other  mission 
families.  Many  professional  visits  had  he  made  to  the  sick 
of  our  mission  band,  driving  out  four  miles  to  us  whenever 
called  for,  and  that  without  any  compensation  except  the 
pleasure  of  doing  good.     He  was  a  comparatively  young  man, 


154  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

being  only  thirty-seven,  and  had  been  married  quite  recently. 
It  had  been  his  anxious  desire  to  leave  Sial'kot,  taking  his 
subordinates  with  him  to  a  place  of  safety,  but  this  was  forbid- 
den. 

On  the  morning  of  the  9th  of  July,  made  aware  of  the  out- 
break, he  and  his  wife  were  hastening  in  their  buggy  towards 
the  house  occupied  by  Messrs.  Spence,  McClatchey  and  Har- 
rison, his  subordinates  in  the  medical  depot,  to  warn  them  of 
their  danger.  A  shot  fired  at  him  from  the  rear  entered  his 
back,  when  he  said  to  his  wife,  "  I  don't  think  that  is  mortal ; 
if  we  are  quick  I  think  we  shall  escape."  Soon  after  this  he 
received  another  shot,  when  he  immediately  said,  "  That  is 
mortal!  Drive  me  to  the  nearest  house!"  They  drove  to 
the  house  of  his  subordinates,  which  happened  to  be  the 
nearest  one,  and  found  that  they  had  all  left  and  were  already 
on  their  way  to  the  fort.  A  Muhammadan  servant,  of  whom 
they  had  hitherto  felt  very  suspicious,  stood  faithfully  by  them 
and  assisted  Mrs.  Graham  to  remove  her  husband  from  the 
buggy  and  lay  him  on  Mr.  McClatchey's  bed,  where  he 
lingered  for  only  two  hours ;  after  this  the  servant  accom- 
panied Mrs.  Graham  to  the  Fort. 

This  sudden  and  terrible  shock  was  more  than  poor  Gra- 
ham's fond  bride  was  able  to  endure,  and  she  did  not  long  sur- 
vive her  husband. 

Brigadier  Brind  had  risen  early ;  whilst  drinking  a  cup  of 
coffee  and  conversing  with  two  of  his  subordinate  officers 
about  leading  his  Sepoys  out  against  some  mutineers  who 
were  thought  to  be  coming  down  from  Jhilam,  a  shot  passed 
through  his  window,  apprising  him  of  the  fact  that  everything 
was  not  as  quiet  in  the  station  as  he  had  supposed  it  to  be. 
He  immediately  ordered  his  horse,  and  said  he  would  go  out 
and  quell  the  disturbance.  His  officers  remonstrated  strongly 
against  such  reckless  exposure  of  his  life,  and  it  is  said  pre- 
cipitately left  him  and  retired  under  a  shower  of  bullets.  The 
Brigadier,  whilst  mounting  his  horse  or  soon  afterwards,  was 
shot  by  a  sazvdr'  of  the  9th  Cavalry.     Drawing  his  pistol,  he 


THE    SEPOY    MUTINY. 


155 


discovered  that  some  treacherous  servant  had  extracted  the 
loads  from  both  barrels,  upon  which  the  undaunted  veteran, 
although  mortally  wounded,  charged  upon  his  assailant  and 
smashed  his  jaw  with  the  empty  pistol.  He  died  of  his  wound 
after  reaching  the  fort.  Thus  he  and  Mr,  Hunter,  between 
whom  a  sharp  controversy  had  been  carried  on — the  latter 
claiming  a  right  to  hold  prayer-meetings,  and  the  former  stig- 
matizing such  meetings  as  conventicles  and  using  his  official 
authority  to  suppress  them — were  both  called  to  the  bar  of 
God  on  the  same  day. 

Capt.  W.  L.  M.  Bishop  and  his  wife  were  driving  towards 
the  fort  in  their  carriage.  The  other  refugees  who  had  already 
entered  the  fort  looked  out  over  the  ramparts  and  saw  them 
coming  at  full  speed.  They  also  discovered  that  some  of  the 
9th  Cavalry  sawdrs'  had  caught  sight  of  them,  and  were  in 
hot  pursuit.  Intense  excitement  pervaded  the  group  of  anx- 
ious spectators,  who  passionately  desired  to  see  Captain  and 
Mrs.  Bishop  win  in  their  almost  desperate  race  for  precious 
life.  On  came  the  carriage  and  pair  as  fast  as  they  could  be 
urged.  On  sped  the  murderous  troopers,  "swift  as  the  eagle 
that  hasteth  to  the  prey."  The  fugitives  seemed  almost  to 
have  won  the  race.  Shots  were  fired  from  the  fort  to  check 
the  pursuers,  but  without  effect.  Near  the  spot  now  occupied 
by  the  Sial'kot  Railway  station,  was  an  excavation  in  the  road, 
washed  out  by  the  rains,  over  which  one  of  our  light  "Ameri- 
can traps"  would  have  skimmed  like  a  swallow;  but  English 
carriages  are  heavy,  and  though  very  elegant,  are  only  adapted 
to  roll  majestically  along  smooth  roads.  The  carriage  plunged 
in,  and  was  upset.  Poor  Bishop!  When  almost  at  the  gate 
he  was  shot  down,  whilst  Mrs.  Bishop  escaped  on  foot  into 
the  fort. 

After  the  news  of  the  murder  of  the  Hunters  had  reached 
Capt.  McMahon  in  the  fort,  he  caused  their  bodies  to  be 
brought  in.  Mr.  Hunter  was  found  lying  with  his  head  pil- 
lowed upon  his  arm,  a  position  which  he  seemed  to  have 
taken  after  he  had  received  his  mortal  wound.     Captain  (now 


156  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Colonel)  McMahon  distinctly  states  that  their  bodies  were  not 
mutilated.  Some  Panjab'i  peasants  who  had  seen  them  lying 
unguarded,  drew  near,  and  watched  over  them  until  they  were 
removed  to  the  fort.  Capt.  McMahon  sent  also  for  the  bodies 
of  the  two  surgeons.  All  were  buried  in  a  garden 'under  the 
west  wall  of  the  fort,  the  Rev.  W.  Boyle  reading  the  burial 
service. 

The  mutineers  remained  in  Sial'kot  only  until,  the  evening 
of  the  day  of  the  outbreak.  As  soon  as  they  had  retired,  the 
fugitives,  who  had  been  concealed,  gathered  into  the  fort ; 
amongst  them  Mr.  Monckton,  who  had  disappeared  in  the 
morning,  was  brought  in  from  a  village  near  by,  covered  up  on 
a  charpa'i,  and  carried  as  if  dead  on  the  heads  of  four  coolies. 
The  troopers  of  the  9th  Cavalry  Regiment  are  the  only 
Sepoys  known  to  have  murdered  any  one  in  the  Sial'kot  out- 
break. As  already  stated,  the  35th  Native  Infantry  Regiment 
had  left  Sial'kot  in  May  with  the  European  troops.  The  46th 
Native  Infantry  Regiment  mutinied  with  the  9th  Cavalry,  and 
marched  away  with  them,  but  took  no  part  in  murdering  their 
officers  or  other  English  people.  On  the  contrary,  they  had 
entered  into  a  positive  agreement  with  the  9th  Cavalry  not  to 
murder  any  of  the  English  ;  and  when  the  latter  violated  the 
engagement  they  threatened  to  turn  about  and  fight  them. 
Many  officers  of  the  46th  were  protected  by  the  men  of  that 
regiment — a  strong  guard  remaining  under  arms  all  day  for 
that  purpose,  and  escorting  them  to  the  fort  in  the  evening 
when  the  mutineers  left.  These  sanguine  rebels  of  the  46th 
Regiment  coolly  offered  their  commanding  officer.  Col.  Far- 
quharson,  to  his  great  amusement,  Rs.  2,000  per  month,  and 
a  captain  in  the  regiment  Rs.  1,000  per  month,  if  they  would 
remain  with  and  lead  them  to  Delhi  against  the  English,  and 
added  :  "  We  will  guarantee  that  you  shall  have  six  months 
leave  of  absence  to  Simla  Hills  every  hot  season." 

Whilst  protected  within  the  lines  of  this  regiment,  the  wife 
of  the  quartermaster  sergeant,  an  Englishwoman,  was  seen 
weeping.  A  native  sergeant  came  up  to  her  and  sympathiz- 
ingly  inquired  why  she  wept: 


THE   SEPOY    MUTINY.  1 57 

"You  have  saved  my  life,"  said  she;  "but  I  have  lost  all  my 
property ;  for  I  left  in  my  house  everything  valuable  that  I 
possess." 

"  Do  not  let  that  trouble  you,"  said  the  sergeant;  "if  you 
will  only  come  along  with  me,  I  will  take  you  back  to  the 
house  and  you  can  get  your  things." 

He  immediately  caused  a  strong  guard  to  "fall  in,"  With 
fixed  bayonets  they  marched  her  through  the  Cantonments  to 
her  house — stood  around  her  whilst  she  opened  her  boxes  and 
took  out  her  cash,  jewels  and  other  valuables — and  marched 
her  back  again  to  the  place  where  the  officers  of  her  regiment 
were  assembled. 

In  the  evening  the  two  mutinous  regiments — the  9th  Cav- 
alry and  46th  Infantry — marched  eastward  towards  Gurdas'pur, 
After  crossing  the  river  RaVi,  nine  miles  from  Gurdas'pur, 
they  were  surprised  by  Col.  Nicholson,  who  had  come  up  from 
Amritsar  with  his  movable  column,  making  a  forced  march 
of  more  than  fifty  miles  within  the  twenty-four  hours.  A  battle 
was  fought  in  which  the  mutineers  were  defeated.  A  remnant 
of  them  attempted  to  retreat  across  the  RaVi,  but  the  stream 
had  risen  meanwhile,  and  many  of  them  were  drowned  in  the 
attempt ;  the  greater  part  of  them,  however,  reached  an  island 
in  the  river,  where  Col.  Nicholson,  by  means  of  boats  made 
another  attack,  capturing  some  and  dispersing  the  rest,  who 
escaped  to  the  mountains  of  Kashmir'.  It  is  believed  that 
none  of  the  Sial'kot  mutineers  ever  reached  Delhi.  I  was  oc- 
casionally invited  by  English  officers  to  speak  to  little  squads 
of  them  who  were  captured  in  the  mountains  and  condemned 
to  be  banished,  shot,  or  blown  from  the  cannons'  mouths ;  but 
whilst  they  besought  me  earnestly  to  save  them  from  cor- 
poreal punishment,  yet  it  was  sad  to  see  that  they  cared  not 
to  hear  a  single  word  about  the  salvation  of  their  souls. 

On  one  of  these  occasions  particularly,  accompanied  by 
Mr.  Scott,  I  was  very  solemnly  and  deeply  impressed.  Two 
regiments  of  English  soldiers  were  drawn  up  front  to  front, 
separated  by  a  little  space.    Between  them  stood  three  pieces  of 


158  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

artillery  loaded  with  blank  cartridges.  Tlie  three  mutineers  who 
were  condemned  to  be  executed  were  then  brought  out  of  prison 
under  guard,  and  conducted  down  the  open  space  between 
the  two  regiments.  Brother  Scott  walked  along  with  them, 
and  the  group  stood  beside  the  loaded  guns.  A  solemn  and 
awe-inspiring  stillness  reigned  among  the  uniformed  spectators, 
whilst  Mr.  Scott  spoke  of  the  only  Saviour  of  sinners  to  those 
who  were  about  to  enter  the  eternal  world,  assuring  them  that 
they  would  be  safe  if  only  they  would  put  their  trust  in  Him. 
But  their  rejection  of  the  glad  tidings  was  decided — nay,  even 
bitter.  Upon  his  retiring,  they  were  led  up  and  made  to  stand 
with  their  breasts  against  the  cannons'  mouths,  and  secured 
with  cords  in  that  position.  The  lighted  fuse  was  then  ap- 
plied, and  all  was  over  in  an  instant.  All  that  remained  of 
the  three  wretched  criminals  was  three  limp,  blackened  sack- 
like inanimate  objects,  lying  on  the  ground  some  considerable 
distance  in  front  of  the  guns. 

Among  those  who  were  condemned  to  be  shot  was  the 
native  sergeant  whom  we  have  just  mentioned;  but  the  hus- 
band of  the  Englishwoman  whose  valuables  he  had  saved, 
now  recognized  him,  and  in  turn  saved  his  life. 

After  the  Sepoys  had  left  Sial'kot,  a  multitude  of  peasants 
from  adjacent  villages  came  into  the  cantonments  and  began 
to  plunder  the  houses.  Believing  that  the  Government  was 
overthrown,  they  determined  every  man  to  help  himself  to  the 
spoils ;  but  measures  were  promptly  taken  to  show  them  their 
mistake.  A  few  of  Sir  John's  Sikh  recruits  were  marched  ftut 
under  the  command  of  his  brother,  Capt.  Richard  Lawrence, 
and  these  plunderers  were  peremptorily  ordered  to  desist ;  but 
they  were  dull  of  understanding.  Capt.  Lawrence  then  fired 
a  volley  at  them,  by  which  some  of  the  insurgents  were  killed 
and  others  wounded ;  and  his  vigorous  treatment  brought  the 
rest  to  their  senses  and  made  them  flee  precipitately. 

Mr.  Monckton,  the  Deputy  Commissioner,  being  ill,  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  his  office  fell  upon  Capt.  McMahon,  the  Assist- 
ant Commissioner.     The  latter,  after  having  a  gallows  erected 


THE   SEPOY    MUTINY.  1 59 

in  the  Fort,  issued  a  proclamation  to  the  effect  that  all  plunder 
that  had  been  carried  off  to  the  neighboring  villages  must  be 
immediately  returned,  otherwise  the  head  men  of  the  guilty 
villages  would  be  hanged.  This  wise  and  timely  measure  pro- 
duced the  desired  effect;  and  the  next  day  Captain  McMahon, 
as  he  surveyed  the  country  from  the  high  walls  of  the  Sialkot 
fort,  witnessed  a  most  interesting  spectacle.  Long  processions 
of  men  and  beasts  of  burden  laden  with  the  plunder  were  seen 
wending  their  way  towards  the  city  from  north,  south,  east, 
and  west,  like  so  many  extended  caravans.  Some  were  loaded 
down  with  tents,  chairs,  tables,  trunks,  doors  and  window- 
blinds ;  some  carried  books,  clothing  and  bedding;  others 
were  the  bearers  of  teapots,  dishes,  silk  dresses,  mill-stones, 
bureaus,  pictures,  and  all  imaginable  household  articles. 
These  simple-minded  Punja'bi  peasants  bore  no  ill  will  towards 
the  Government,  or  any  individual.  When  taken  to  task  by 
the  Assistant  Commissioner,  they  appeared  like  so  many 
frightened  children,  and  frankly  confessed  that,  when  the  army 
had  revolted,  they  had  entertained  no  other  thought  than  that 
the  English  Government  had  come  to  an  end,  and  that  it  was 
proper  for  them  according  to  traditionary  custom  to  take  a 
share  of  whatever  was  left;  "  but  now  "  said  they,  "  we  have 
been  ordered  to  bring  the  things  back — and  here  they  are." 
Capt.  McMahon,  therefore,  dealt  with  them  more  leniently  than 
he  was  urged  to  do  by  some  who  saw  only  the  worst  side  of 
events,  and  who  did  not  stand  in  his  responsible  position.  In 
fact,  he  punished  none  of  those  who  returned  the  plunder,  but 
those  only  who  were  caught  in  the  act  of  pillaging. 

The  sight  of  the  gallows,  with  a  very  moderate  use  of  it, 
proved  a  most  effective  means  of  restoring  order.  When  we 
returned  to  Sial'kot  two  weeks  after  the  outbreak,  we  saw  re- 
stored property  in  the  Chief  Bazar  and  in  the  streets  of  the 
city,  collected  in  heaps  as  large  as  houses.  In  one  of  these 
huge  piles  of  miscellaneous  articles  we  recognized  Mrs.  Hill's 
bonnet,  and  from  another  Mr.  Hill  recovered  parts  of  one  of 
the  mission  tents.     A  coolie  who  had  tended  the  masons  at 


l6o  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

our  building  and  to  whom  we  had  given  some  old  clothes,  now 
brought  them  in  to  us,  a  distance  of  fourteen  miles,  and  be- 
sought us  to  receive  them  back.  Another  native  brought  me 
a  sword  which  had  long  been  in  his  possession,  and  begged 
me  to  take  it  from  him,  lest  the  possession  of  it  might  cost  him 
his  life.  I  have  no  doubt  that  any  English  goods,  however 
valuable,  could  have  been  safely  left  at  that  time  in  the  streets 
of  Sial'kot,  if  only  distinguishable  from  such  things  as  natives 
usually  own.  And  now  that  the  abundant  rains,  instead  of  the 
hot  winds,  were  affording  a  pleasant  temperature,  I  threw 
open  the  house  and,  placing  my  bed  across  the  doorway  for 
fresh  air,  slept — often  entirely  alone — without  any  special  ap- 
prehension of  danger. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  city  of  Sial'kot  itself  were  orderly 
during  all  this  disturbance,  and  loyally  furnished  whatever 
was  required  in  the  way  of  supplies  for  the  refugees  in  the  fort. 

Although  parties  came  from  distant  villages  to  plunder  our 
mission  houses  southwest  of  the  city,  the  people  of  Ha'jipur, 
the  nearest  village,  threatened  to  retaliate  by  plundering  their 
villages  if  they  should  injure  our  property.  This  was  reported 
by  us  to  the  Government,  and  Ha'ji'pur  was  liberally  rewarded. 

As  the  way  seemed  scarcely  open  for  aggressive  mission 
work,  Messrs.  Hill  and  Scott  returned  to  Labor  about  the 
29th  of  July.  Muhammad  Ismail  and  Nasrul'la,  two  Christian 
helpers  who  had  been  in  Mr.  Hunter's  employ,  came  to  me, 
and  for  a  time  were  my  companions  and  guests. 

The  19th  of  August,  the  day  on  which  twenty  thousand 
Muhammadans  were  to  assemble  in  the  south  suburbs  of  the 
city  of  Sial'kot,  for  the  observance  of  one  of  their  annual 
religious  festivals,  was  near  at  hand.  The  more  devotional 
Muhammadans  appear  to  be,  the  more  we  dread  them.  A 
police  force  is  usually  detailed  to  preserve  order  at  their  relig- 
ious festivals,  even  in  times  of  peace;  but  in  days  like  those  of 
1857,  when  religious  excitement  ran  high,  serious  disturbances, 
with  bloodshed,  if  not  something  revolutionary  and  far-reach- 
ing, were   specially  to  be  apprehended.     The  local   Govern- 


THE    SEPOY   MUTINY.  l6l 

ment  headquarters  had  previous  to  this  been  removed  from 
the  fort  to  a  strong  barrack  in  the  cantonments.  Capt.  Mc- 
Mahon,  believing  that  I  would  not  at  such  a  time  be  safe  alone 
beyond  the  city  and  within  sight  of  the  approaching  Muham- 
madan  festival,  very  kindly  invited  me  up  to  the  Government 
headquarters. 

The  barrack  which  they  had  chosen  for  their  headquarters 
was  not  fortified,  but  was  a  strong  building.  Within  and 
around  it  was  the  whole  machinery  by  which  a  million  of  natives 
were,  for  the  time  being,  held  in  subjection  to  the  British  power. 
First,  there  were  in  this  building  four  or  five  English  officers 
— not  military,  but  civil,  although  some  of  them  bore  military 
titles;  besides  these  there  were  very  few  if  any  white  men  in 
all  that  vast  population.  Then  the  barrack  was  well  stored 
with  weapons  of  death,  and  each  officer  was  supplied  with 
more  of  these  than  he  would  be  well  able  to  handle.  A  double 
line  of  Sikh  Sepoys,  who  by  this  time  had  proved  themselves 
excellent  soldiers  and  thoroughly  loyal,  formed  a  guard  around 
the  building;  and  so  thorough  were  they  in  their  soldierly 
ideas  that  even  the  English  officers,  few  and  well  known  as 
they  were,  could  not,  in  passing  out  and  in,  safely  disregard 
their  never  failing — "  Hti-kam-dar  .^"  (Who  comes  there?)  for 
they  would  utter  the  warning  three  times  only;  after  which,  if 
unheeded,  they  were  sure  to  fire.  One  of  the  rooms  in  the 
building  was  used  as  a  court-room,  and  another  as  a  treasury, 
whilst  a  gallows  stood  apart  in  a  secluded  yard,  intended  for 
the  rebelliously  inclined — five  of  whom  I  saw  suspended  from 
it  on  that  occasion.  At  the  close  of  the  three  critical  days  of 
the  meld  I  returned  to  the  mission  premises,  and  passed  the 
time  unmolested  and  free  from  fear. 

On  the  14th  of  September,  Delhi,  after  a  siege  of  four 
months,  was  stormed  and  retaken  from  the  Sepoys  by  the  Eng- 
lish, when  the  Panjab'  was  once  more  regarded  as  out  of  dan- 
ger. Soon  after  this  my  family  and  Brother  Scott  returned  to 
Sial'kot;  and  early  in  October  the  rest  of  our  missionary  band, 
who  had  hitherto  remained  in  the  Labor  fort,  followed  them. 


l62  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

The  Delhi  bank  employed  a  new  manager  in  place  of  the 
late  Mr.  Beresford,  who,  as  already  stated,  had  been  murdered 
by  the  Sepoys,  gathered  up  all  that  could  be  found  of  their 
scattered  ledgers,  and  reopened  for  business.  With  us  they 
dealt  most  honorably.  Our  deposit  of. mission  funds  in  their 
hands  when  the  bank  was  plundered  amounted  to  nearly 
Rs.  1,000.  All  that  was  required  of  us  by  them  was  a  certi- 
fied statement  of  our  account.  Upon  our  furnishing  them  with 
this,  they  promptly  honored  the  same,  and  paid  us  the  money 
with  interest  as  though  no  disaster  had  happened. 

Similar  good  testimony  may  here  be  given  as  to  the  liberal 
manner  in  which  we  were  treated  by  the  Government.  Esti- 
mates were  made  out  by  Mr.  Hill  of  damages  sustained  by  the 
Mission  in  the  destruction  of  his  house  and  tent,  and  of  his 
own  personal  loss  of  household  goods;  on  presentation  of  these 
claims  to  the  Government,  they  were  promptly  paid. 

It  seems  scarcely  necessary  to  state  here,  that  down  to  the 
period  of  which  I  am  speaking,  the  great  ruling  power  which 
governed  the  most  of  India  was  the  British  East  India  Com- 
pany, holding  their  charter  from  the  English  Sovereign — that 
their  object  at  first  had  been  to  carry  on  trade  between  India 
and  England,  but  that,  leaving  this  as  a  secondary  object, 
the  chief  aim  now  for  a  century  or  more  had  been  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  great  British-Indian  Empire.  After  the  disasters 
of  the  Sepoy  Mutiny  of  1857,  the  East  India  Company's  char- 
ter was  taken  from  them,  and  the  government  of  India  placed 
more  directly  under  the  control  of  the  British  Sovereign — a 
change  which  gave  the  assurance  of  greater  stability  and  se- 
curity, and  the  promise  of  more  liberal  and  equal  treatment  of 
all  questions  touching  religious  liberty. 

The  murderer,  Hurmat  Khan,  after  the  memorable  9th  of 
July,  1857,  escaped  to  the  mountains  north  of  Sial'kot,  within 
the  Kingdom  of  Kashmir'.  Captain  (who  was  now  Major) 
Lawrence  offered  a  reward  of  Rs.  looo  for  his  capture.  Several 
unsuccessful  attempts  were  made  to  take  him.  Time  passed, 
and  the  month  of  July,  1862,  was  approaching,  when  one  day 


THE    SEPOY    MUTINY.  1 63 

a  stranger  called  at  a  village  ten  miles  east  of  SiaKkot,  sat 
down  by  the  village  well,  and  asked  for  food.  Ka'dir  Bakhsh, 
the  head  man  of  this  village,  gave  him  something  to  eat,  and, 
in  course  of  conversation,  learned  that  the  stranger  had  been 
sent  from  the  Kingdom  of  Kashmir,  across  the  border,  by  one 
Hurmat  Shah,  to  fetch  the  wife  of  one  Fazla.  Now  Ka'dir 
Bakhsh  had  long  been  on  the  lookout  for  Hurmat  Khan. 
He  knew  Fazla  to  be  a  notorious  profligate.  He  also  knew 
that  this  wife  of  Fazla  was  the  very  woman  about  whom  a 
quarrel  had  existed  five  years  before,  between  Hurmat  Khan 
and  the  court  clerk,  resulting  in  the  degradation  of  the  former, 
and  his  attempt  to  murder  the  latter.  He  therefore  cleverly 
"put  two  and  two  together,"  and  reported  to  the  authorities  at 
Sial'kot.  The  Maha'raja's  (great  king's)  Government  at  Jamu, 
the  capital  of  Kashmir,  co-operated  with  the  English  authori- 
ties at  Sial'kot  and  sent  one  of  the  palace  servants  as  a  spy  to 
the  hut  in  which  Hurmat  Khan  was  suspected  to  be  living, 
and  which  was  visible  from  the  very  gate  of  Jamu  City.  This 
spy,  passing  the  hut  accidentally  as  it  were,  sat  down  for  a 
chat,  and,  on  the  pretext  of  procuring  a  little  tobacco,  went 
into  the  hut,  where  he  saw  a  sword  hanging  on  the  wall.  It 
was  now  believed  that  the  murderer  and  his  haunt  were  suf- 
ficiently identified.  But,  a  reward  having  been  offered  for  his 
capture,  he  was  ever  on  the  alert,  and  had  hitherto  always  es- 
caped to  the  mountains  on  the  slightest  alarm;  the  difficult 
point,  therefore,  was  how  to  capture  him. 

An  English  gentleman  at  Sial'kot  organized  a  sham  mar- 
riage procession.  Armed  men  were  dressed  as  peasants  would 
dress  for  a  wedding,  and  were  packed  in  yakkds  (one-horse 
vehicles)  in  genuine  marriage  procession  style.  The  English- 
man played  the  part  of  the  dainty  bride,  secluded  from  vulgar 
gaze  in  a  covered  and  closely  curtained  ox-cart,  as  a  native 
bride  ought  to  be.  The  bells  jingled  merrily ;  the  bridal  party 
wended  their  way  along  the  road  leading  to  the  murderer's  hut, 
amid  noisy  talking  and  laughter,  without  exciting  any  suspi- 
cion.    Suddenly  the  wedding  guests  were  transformed  into  a 


164  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

body  of  armed  men,  who,  headed  by  the  bearded  bride,  sur- 
rounded the  hut.  Hurmat  Khan,  drawing  his  sword,  stood  at 
his  doorway.  Knowing  well  his  fate  if  captured,  he  made  a 
desperate  defense,  holding  forty  men  at  bay  for  three  hours, 
which  was  doubtless  owing  to  the  desire  of  his  assailants  to 
capture  him  alive  if  possible ;  but  all  their  efforts  to  accom- 
plish this  failed.  Finally,  they  all  closed  in  upon  him  in  a 
body,  and  he  received  a  sword-cut  across  the  loins  which  put 
an  end  to  his  life.  His  body  was  sent  to  Sial'kot  and  identified 
on  oath — in  fact  the  whole  city  recognized  it.  It  was  buried 
in  a  Muhammadan  burying  ground  at  the  south  side  of  the 
city,  where  the  city  prostitutes  kept  a  light  burning  on  the 
tomb,  and  made  a  pilgrimage  to  it  once  a  year.  He  was  hon- 
ored as  a  martyr  by  Muhammadans,  and  a  second  monument 
was  erected  to  his  memory  a  little  south  of  W.  Spence's  house. 
The  reward  of  Rs.  1000  was  paid  to  Kadir  Bakhsh. 

The  place  where  the  seven  English  persons  who  were  mur- 
dered on  the  9th  of  July  were  buried,  is  neatly  enclosed  by  a 
brick  wall.  Monuments  suitably  inscribed  mark  their  respec- 
tive resting  places ;  and  the  little  cemetery  is  cared  for  in  a 
becoming  manner. 

The  men  who  guarded  our  mission  houses  are,  if  still  living, 
occupying  honorable  subordinate  positions  in  the  service  of 
government,  on  liberal  wages. 

Abdul  Razak',  whose  wages  were  only  six  rupees  per  month 
before  the  rebellion,  was  rewarded  with  a  pension  of  Rs.  50 
per  month — to  be  continued  to  his  son  after  him.  The  old 
man,  though  feeble,  was  still  living  in  October,  1884,  and 
showed  us  Major  Saunders'  letter,  curiously  set  in  a  heavy 
frame,  with  glass  in  the  back  as  well  as  the  front,  to  admit  of 
the  writing  on  both  sides  of  the  paper  being  read. 


CHAPTER    X  I. 

OUR    FIRST    CHURCH    EDIFICE. 

DIFFICULTY  IN  SECURING  A  SITE — HOW  FUNDS  WERE  RAISED — THE 
BUILDING  COMPLETED — SEIZED  BY  THE  GOVERNMENT — SHALL  IT  BE 
TORN  DOWN  ? — PETITION  TO  THE  LIEUTENANT  GOVERNOR — TAHSIL^  TO 
BE  TORN  DOWN  AND  THE  CHURCH  TO  STAND — A  GENEROUS  DEED — 
"WHAT  WILL  THE  GOVERNOR  GENERAL  SAY?" — DURBAR  AT  SIAL^KOT 
— "WHAT  NICE  BUILDING  IS  THAT  ?" — "LET  THEM  STAND!" — CHURCH 
DEBT  REMOVED — IMPRESSIVE  COINCIDENCE. 

EFFORTS  to  secure  a  site  for  a  church  building  in  the  city 
of  Sial'kot  were  begun  at  a  very  early  date  ;  but  the  diffi- 
culties raised  by  the  natives  were  so  numerous  and  so  great 
that  we  gave  it  up  as  impracticable.  Just  outside  of  the  city, 
however,  we  were  more  successful.  Edward  Prinsep,  esq., 
a  settlement  officer  in  the  service  of  the  government,  was 
securing  a  piece  of  ground  for  a  Ta/is'i/' *  building ;  and  he 
kindly  purchased  one  acre  adjoining  this  for  our  church  build- 
ing, at  the  small  cost  of  twenty  dollars. 

A  subscription  paper  was  circulated,  first  among  the  mem- 
bers of  our  Mission,  and  then  among  our  English  acquaintan- 
ces and  others,  which  resulted  in  a  building  fund  of  Rs.  1800 
— a  sum  equal  to  ;^900,  according  to  the  rate  of  exchange  cur- 
rent in  those  days.  To  this  amount  our  Christian  friend,  Mr. 
Prinsep,  very  generously  added  Rs.  500.  After  the  foundation 
of  our  building  was  laid,  and  just  when  we  were  about  to  be- 
gin the  superstructure.  Sir  John  Lawrence — afterwards  Lord 
Lawrence  and  Governor-General  of  India — on  passing  through 
Sial'kot,  paused  to  take  a  look  at  our  work,  and  remarked  that 
the  foundation  was  two  feet  too  low;  he  afterwards  sent  us 
Rs.  200  to  raise  it  the  desired  two  feet,  thus  adding  much  to 

*  Office  of  the  Collector  of  Revenue. 
(165) 


1 66  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

the  appearance  and  healthfulness  of  the  building,  and  sweUing 
our  fund  to  about  Rs.  2500.  This  sum  was  still  insufficient 
to  complete  the  building,  and  we  borrowed  Rs.  1470  more. 

The  building  then  arose  gradually,  to  the  great  satisfaction 
of  every  one  concerned,  until  it  wanted  only  a  very  few  finish- 
ing strokes  to  make  it  complete;  when,  lo!  a  dispatch  came 
down  from  Mr.  Cust,  the  Commissioner,  who  was  Mr.  Prin- 
sep's  superior  officer,  ordering  our  church  building  to  be  taken 
from  us  and  appropriated  to  government  purposes ;  or,  in  case 
it  could  not  be  used  by  the  government,  to  be  torn  down — all 
as  unexpected,  sudden,  and  astounding  as  if  an  earthquake  had 
swallowed  our  building,  or  a  bomb-shell  blown  it  to  atoms ! 
This  thunder-bolt  from  a  clear  sky  went  on  to  say,  that  the 
site  of  our  church  being  purchased  at  the  same  time  with  that 
of  the  Tahs'il' ,^n(\  our  building  being  erected  at  the  same  time 
with  the  Tahs'il'  building,  the  natives  would  be  liable  to  sus- 
pect that  the  government  was  itself  erecting  a  mission  church, 
contrary  to  the  recently-announced  government  policy  of  neu- 
trality in  religious  matters.  It  was  also  alleged  that  our  build- 
ing was  offensively  near  to  certain  Hindu  and  Muhammadan 
temples  (which  were  away  off  in  the  city,  far  enough) ;  and 
finally,  the  objection  was  urged,  that  in  case  the  Tahs'il'  should 
ever  be  used  as  a  fortress — a  possible  contingency  which  was 
contemplated  in  its  structure — our  church  building  would  then 
stand  in  the  way. 

With  the  aid  of  our  Christian  friends,  civil  and  military, 
these  objections  were  answered,  and  a  remonstrance  was  drawn 
up  to  be  presented  to  the  Panjab'  Government.  The  intensely 
hot  weather  was  at  hand ;  the  headquarters  of  the  Panjab'  Gov- 
ernment had  just  been  removed  for  the  hot  season  to  Murree 
Hill  station,  194  miles  distant,  and  three  and  one-half  miles 
an  hour  by  palanquin  was  the  rate  and  mode  of  travel.  Mr. 
Stevenson,  arranging  his  relay  of  kalidrs' ,  went  up  to  Murree, 
and  put  this  paper  into  the  hands  of  Sir  Robert  Montgomery, 
who  was  then  at  the  head  of  the  Panjab'  government.  This 
kind-hearted  Christian  gentleman  inquired  of  Mr.  Stevenson 


OUR    FIRST    CHURCH    EDIFICE.  167 

whether  he  had  really  come  so  long  a  journey  through  the 
heat  on  this  special  business;  and  on  learning  that  this  was 
the  case,  he  said  he  would  do  all  he  could  for  us.  Mr.  Steven- 
son then  returned  home,  and  we  all  waited  in  hopeful  suspense 
to  hear  the  result. 

For  the  sake  of  clearness  it  seems  necessary  to  say  here, 
that  after  the  Sepoy  mutiny  the  government  felt  it  was  neces- 
sary to  treat  all  religious  questions  with  great  caution ;  that 
Mr.  Prinsep  was  subordinate  in  office  to  Mr.  Cust ;  that  Mr. 
Cust  was  subordinate  to  the  Lieutenant-Governor  Sir  Robert 
Montgomery,  and  that  when  Mr.  Prinsep  secured  our  church 
building  site,  all  trouble  in  reference  to  it  might,  perhaps,  have 
been  avoided,  if,  instead  of  acting  independently,  he  had  first 
obtained  Mr.  Gust's  approval. 

After  a  long  time  the  order  came  from  Sir  Robert  Mont- 
gomery, which  order,  before  sending  it  to  us,  he  had  submit- 
ted to  the  Governor-General  for  approval,  that  the  church 
building  should  stand,  and  that  the  Tahs'il'  should  be  torn 
down  and  rebuilt  on  another  site,  remote  from  our  church. 
Thus  far  the  order  was  satisfactory;  for  it  saved  us  from  the 
mortification  of  seeing  our  church  demolished,  and  of  listening 
to  the  sneers  and  taunts  of  mocking  Hindus  and  Muhamma- 
dans.  But  alas  !  there  was  in  it  another  clause  which  grieved 
us  exceedingly — it  required  the  removing  and  rebuilding  of 
the  Tahs'il' ,  which  would  cost  more  than  Rs.  5000,  to  be  done 
by  Mr.  Prinsep  at  his  own  private  expense. 

A  meeting  of  the  Mission  was  immediately  called  to  deter- 
mine how  we  should  meet  this  new  phase  of  the  business;  for 
we  were  plunged,  if  possible,  into  deeper  perplexity  than  ever. 
How  could  we  endure  to  see  our  Christian  friend  pay  a  fine  of 
Rs.  5000  for  what  he  had  done  in  aid  of  our  work?  To  us  the 
thing  for  which  this  fine  was  imposed  seemed  an  unimportant 
oversight — the  omission  of  a  mere  formality;  but  government 
orders  are  hard  to  evade,  and  what  was  to  be  done?  Some 
proposed  that  we  should  relieve  Mr.  Prinsep  by  permitting  the 
church  building  to  be   demolished.      Others  were   decidedly 


l68  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

averse  to  this  course,  and  proposed  to  make  an  appeal  to  our 
people  in  America,  believing  that  if  the  whole  matter  were  only 
laid  clearly  before  them,  they  would  furnish  the  Rs.  5000 
without  hesitation. 

While  we  were  earnestly  discussing  these  two  alternatives, 
Mr.  Prinsep  himself  came  in,  smiling  very  pleasantly.  As  soon 
as  we  told  him  of  the  propositions  under  discussion,  he  said  to 
us  very  decidedly:  "  Do  neither  the  one  thing  nor  the  other. 
The  Lord  has  of  late  prospered  me  beyond  my  expectations 
— money  has  come  to  me  that  I  did  not  expect — and  why 
should  I  hesitate  to  spend  a  little  of  it  in  His  cause  ?  Take 
no  more  anxious  thought  about  the  matter." 

Mr.  Cust,  who  seemed  now  to  relent  somewhat,  came  to 
Sial'kot,  and  calling  out  a  number  of  the  chief  men  of  the  city, 
formally  asked  them  whether  they  had  any  objection  to  these 
two  buildings — the  church  and  TahsW — standing  as  they  were ; 
and  no  objection  worthy  of  notice  was  raised.  Taking  this  as 
a  basis  for  new  action,  he  submitted  to  Sir  Robert  Montgom- 
ery the  question  whether  it  might  not,  after  all,  be  better  to 
quietly  let  both  buildings  stand  as  they  were,  since  the  native 
gentlemen  of  Sial'kot,  after  being  formally  consulted,  did  not 
object.  Sir  Robert  Montgomery  was  quite  willing  to  take  this 
course,  and  Mr.  Prinsep  certainly  would  not  object.  But  what 
would  the  Governor-General  say?  For  the  order  to  remove 
the  TahsW  at  Mr.  Prinsep's  expense  had  been  sent  up  to  him 
by  the  Panjab'  Government,  and  had  received  his  sanction. 
Lord  Canning,  the  Governor-General,  was  not  thought  to  have 
very  much  love  either  for  missions  or  for  officers  who  aided 
them,  and  an  order  from  a  man  in  his  position  was  not  a  thing 
to  be  trifled  with  by  a  commissioner,  or  even  by  the  lieutenant- 
governor  of  a  province.  What  if  he  should  inquire  as  to 
whether  his  order  in  reference  to  these  buildings  had  been  car- 
ried out?  Looking,  however,  at  the  whole  matter,  the  proba- 
bility seemed  exceedingly  small  that  the  Governor-General 
would  ever  trouble  either  himself  or  any  one  else  about  it ;  for 
overwhelmed  continually  with  the  great  matters   of  his  vast 


OUR    FIRST    CHURCH    EDIFICE.  169 

empire,  he  would  in  all  probability  never  think  of  it  again. 
And  so  it  was  determined  to  let  the  buildings  stand,  and  to 
send  this  whole  unpleasant  business  into  oblivion,  as  far  and  as 
fast  as  the  wings  of  time  could  carry  it. 

A  few  months  after  this  business  had  been  thus  disposed  of, 
the  Governor-General  made  a  grand  tour  through  North  India, 
stopping  in  many  of  its  chief  cities  to  hold  public  darbUrs' ;  and 
Sial'kot  was  in  his  programme.  In  due  time  the  extensive 
open  grassy  plain  between  the  city  and  the  cantonments  was 
covered  with  his  camp — and  what  an-imposing  display  of  can- 
vass !  Street  after  street  was  formed  of  tents  pitched  in  perfect 
order,  with  the  grand  darbdr'  pavilion  in  the  center.  Lord 
Clyde,  the  Commander-in-chief,  with  his  staff;  the  imperial 
secretaries,  the  Bishop  of  Calcutta,  and  other  great  personages, 
were  there.  It  was  a  city  of  canvas  palaces — the  population 
of  which,  including  the  entire  following,  was  said  to  number 
17,000  persons. 

The  chief  native  prince  of  the  occasion,  the  Mahd'rdjd 
(great  king)  of  Kashmir,  occupied  the  grounds  near  the  race- 
course ;  and,  true  to  his  Oriental  instinct,  he  must  needs  sur- 
pass even  the  Governor-General  himself  in  the  magnitude  and 
splendor  of  his  camp.  His  gaudy  pavilion,  his  numerous  cour- 
tiers and  other  attendants ;  his  array  of  fine  horses,  and  his 
enormous  elephants  with  gold  trappings,  were  imposing  be- 
yond anything  we  had  ever  witnessed.  Whilst  inferior  in  point 
of  order,  cleanliness,  and  elements  of  real  strength  and  kingly 
greatness,  his  camp  and  following  exceeded  those  of  Lord 
Canning  by  about  3000  persons.  When  a  number  of  us  en- 
tered the  Malid'rdjd's  pavillion  for  the  purpose  of  presenting 
him  with  a  Bible,  great  numbers  of  wealthy  men  were  pressing 
forward,  every  one  with  a  gift  of  gold  or  silver  in  his  hand ; 
and  though  the  interview  vouchsafed  to  them  consisted  gener- 
ally in  nothing  more  than  bowing  down  before  the  king  on 
their  part,  and  receiving  their  gifts  on  his  part ;  yet  even  this 
much  appeared  to  afford  them  inexpressible  pleasure.  The 
scene  reminded  us  of  the  words  addressed  to  our  Saviour  King: 


I/O  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

"  The  rich  among  the  people  shall  entreat  thy  favor."  On  the 
great  day  of  the  darbdr'  a  public  audience  was  given  in  the 
Governor-General's  imperial  pavilion,  at  which  the  Maha'raja, 
together  with  numerous  petty  native  princes,  exchanged  pres- 
ents and  compliments  with  the  Governor-General.  On  both 
sides  it  was  a  magnificent  display.  The  design  of  the  Viceroy's 
tour,  we  may  suppose,  was  to  show  the  millions  of  India  the 
utter  folly  of  ever  again  attempting  to  raise  their  puny  arm 
against  the  the  British  Lion. 

On  this  grand  public  occasion  Sir  Robert  Montgomery,  Mr. 
Gust  and  Mr.  Prinsep,  were,  as  a  matter  of  course,  in  attend- 
ance upon  His  Excellency  the  Governor-General  and  Viceroy 
of  India.  It  is  not  difficult  to  imagine  that  these  three  gentle- 
men were  thinking  occasionally  about  our  church  building  and 
the  Tahs'il'.  In  fact  we  heard  that  they  had  agreed  together 
to  so  divert  the  attention  and  manage  the  movements  of  His 
Excellency  that  he  would  not  notice  these  buildings. 

The  city  fort,  which  has  been  mentioned  in  a  preceding 
chapter,  was  a  prominent  object,  standing  in  full  view  of  the 
camp.  Moreover,  it  had  a  history;  and  an  interesting  chapter 
had  been  added  to  its  history  during  the  late  Sepoy  Mutiny; 
the  Viceroy,  therefore,  desired  to  see  the  fort.  At  his  own 
request  Sir  Robert  Montgomery,  Mr.  Gust  and  Mr.  Prinsep, 
conducted  him  to  the  city  and  up  into  the  fort,  which  was  so 
very  high  that  it  commanded  a  view  of  the  whole  city  and  its 
suburbs. 

'•  What  nice  English-built  edifice  is  that?"  inquired  Lord 
Canning,  as  he  pointed  over  to  the  west  side  of  the  city. 

"  It  is  the  chapel  of  the  American  Mission,  your  Excel- 
lency." 

"Is  it  indeed?  Then  we  must  go  down  to  see  it,"  responded 
the  great  man,  in  a  soft,  gentle  tone,  and  yet  with  a  thoughtful 
air  of  seriousness,  which  was  by  no  means  soothing  to  the 
nerves  of  his  honorable  escort. 

They  drove  down  ;  and  finding  the  church-door  locked,  and 
no  one  present  to  admit   them,  they  walked  beyond   it  to  the 


OUR    FIRST    CHURCH    EDIFICE.  I7I 

city  reservoir,  and  out  to  a  little  artificial  island  in  its  center. 
Here  the  group  stood  looking  down  at  the  pavement  medita- 
tively, and  a  few  words  quietly  spoken  explained  why  the  Pan- 
jab'  Government  had  thought  it  better,  on  the  whole,  not  to 
disturb  the  buildings. 

To  this  Lord  Canning  said,  "  O,  very  well ;  just  let  them  stand 
as  they  arc!' 

Yes,  our  building  stands.  And  it  looks  as  if  it  might  stand 
for  centuries  to  come. 

"  The  work  accomplished  by  our  hand, 
Let  it  by  Thee  estabhshed  stand  !  " 

The  debt  of  Rs.  1470  hung  as  a  cloud  over  our  church 
building  four  years.  During  this  time  the  building  was  con- 
stantly used  on  week  days  for  school  purposes.  Now  mission 
schools  were  agreeable  to  the  policy  of  the  government,  and  it 
was  customary  for  the  government  to  give  grants  of  money  in 
aid  of  them  for  the  sake  of  the  secular  education  imparted  in 
them — the  educational  department  taking  such  schools  under 
their  inspection.  On  the  basis  of  this  educational  policy,  Mr. 
Stevenson  said  to  the  Director,  who  was  visiting  the  school : 
"  We  have  kept  up  this  school  now  these  four  years  in  this 
building ;  no  part  of  the  expense  of  rent  or  repairs  has  ever 
been  received,  or  even  asked,  by  us  from  the  government. 
Will  you  not  therefore  pay  off  a  small  debt  which  rests  on  our 
building?" 

The  director  said  that  it  was  not  their  policy  to  aid  private 
parties  who  are  able  to  do  for  themselves,  and  that  we  should 
first  make  an  effort  and  do  our  utmost. 

Mr.  Stevenson  replied,  "This  is  just  our  case;  we  have  al- 
ready done  our  utmost  to  remove  the  debt,  and  have  failed." 

"  Very  well,"  said  the  Director,  "  put  these  things  on  paper, 
and  I  will  see  what  can  be  done." 

They  were  put  on  paper,  and  sent  up  to  the  government  in 
due  form  through  the  Director;  and,  in  March,  1864,  we  re- 
ceived the  Rs.  1470  from  the  government,  and  paid  off  the  debt. 


1^2  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Thus  we  have  our  building  and  lot,  with  some  plain  furniture, 
at  a  total  cost  of  about  Rs.  4000 — all  contributed  in  India. 

The  building  was  opened  for  divine  service  on  the  14th  of 
August,  1859.  The  same  evening  on  our  way  to  church,  the 
moon,  which  had  risen  full  and  bright,  began  to  grow  dark  as 
it  entered  the  shadow  of  the  earth ;  after  a  little,  it  came  forth 
again  as  bright  and  glorious  as  ever.  What  a  striking  and 
impressive  coincidence!  Truly,  the  Church,  in  a  wider  and 
higher  sense  of  the  word,  shall  "  look  forth  as  the  morning, 
fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army  with 
banners." 


CHAPTER   XII. 

OUR    FIRST    CONVERTS — 1857-64. 

THE  CHUH'RA  tribe — THEIR  OCCUPATION — DESPISED  CONDITION — IL- 
LUSTRATIVE INCIDENT — CHUH^RAS  OPPRESSED — THEIR  DEGRADATION 
— SURPRISING  EXCEPTIONS —  THEIR  RELIGION — HUMBLE  AND  TEACH- 
ABLE— WILLING  TO  IMPROVE — FIRST  BAPTISM — FIRST  DEATH — CAU- 
TIONED AGAINST  RECEIVING  CHUH^RAS  —  MORE  CONVERTS  —  FIRST 
WOMAN  BAPTIZED — OUR  CARES  AND  BURDENS  BEGIN —  EARLY  CON- 
VERTS PERSECUTED — CHARITABLE  COLLECTIONS  FOR  THEM — EMPLOY- 
ING THEM  IN  MISSION  FAMILIES — NATIVE  IDEAS  OF  WORK  AND  OF 
BEGGING — INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOL — ENCOURAGING  RESULTS. 

AMONG  the  many  peoples  of  India  there  is  a  low  tribe  called 
Chiih'ras,  who,  according  to  the  census  of  1881,  numbered 
1,078,739  in  the  Panjab',  and  who  are  more  numerous  in  the 
central  districts  of  the  province  than  elsewhere.  The  natives 
do  not  honor  them  by  applying  to  them  the  term  "  caste," 
since  they  are  out  of  and  below  every  caste  that  is  recognized 
as  in  any  degree  respectable.  I  shall,  nevertheless,  speak  of 
them  as  a  low  caste. 

Their  occupation  is  chiefly  that  of  drudges  and  scavengers. 
If,  for  example,  a  buffalo,  a  camel  or  an  ox  is  about  to  die 
from  age,  sickness  or  injury,  the  Muhammadans  of  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  have  the  first  claim  to  it;  if  they  can  manage  to 
say  over  the  dying  animal  these  words :  ''Allah  Ho  Akbar" 
(God  is  great)  before  its  life  is  extinct,  they  can  use  its  flesh 
for  food ;  but  if  it  dies  before  this  can  be  done,  it  is  pronounced 
unclean,  and  the  Chuh'rds  are  required  to  remove  it;  the  hide 
falling  to  them,  and  in  many  cases  the  carcass  being  used  by 
them  as  food. 

The  social  position  of  Chuh'rds  is  very  low.  The  part  of  the 
town  in  which  they  live  is  always  separated  by  at  least  a  street 
or  alley  from  that  which  forms  the  residence  of  Muhamma- 

(173) 


174  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

dans,  Hindus,  Sikhs,  and  other  tribes  and  castes  who  consider 
themselves  respectable.  People  who  pride  themselves  on  their 
caste — it  matters  not  by  what  name  they  are  called — will  not 
allow  even  the  shadow  of  a  passing  ChuJi'ra  to  fall  upon  them. 
The  poor  CJuili'rd,  like  the  leper  of  old,  must  stop  and  give 
warning  whenever  there  is  any  danger  of  contact.  He  is  not 
admitted  into  the  public  schools,  nor  employed  by  the  govern- 
ment as  a  soldier  or  policeman ;  should  he  be  so  admitted  or 
employed,  all  caste-people  would  consider  themselves  excluded. 
When  a  missionary  preaches  to  a  crowd  in  the  open  air,  the 
CJiuh'i'ds,  if  they  wish  to  hear,  must  stand  apart  by  themselves. 
When^  he  preaches  in  the  Chuh'rds  own  part  of  a  town  they 
can  sit  before  him  and  listen ;  but  in  this  case  the  caste-people 
choose  a  separate  position  and  stand.  Should  any  reputable 
person  by  mistake  approach  a  Chiih'rd,  the  latter  is  expected 
to  stand  with  the  palms  of  his  hands  joined  together — an  atti- 
tude of  humility — and  say,  ^'Malid'rdjd  main  CliuJi'rd  Jiun' 
(Great  King,  I  am  a  CJwh'ra).  If  contact  should  take  place 
in  consequence  of  his  neglect,  he  may  expect  a  "  shoe-beating," 
which  is  a  very  degrading  mode  of  punishment. 

A  number  of  high  caste  lads  from  the  Gurdas'pur  public 
school  were  sitting  on  the  carpet  in  our  house  on  a  Sabbath 
day  listening  to  our  preaching,  when  a  Cliuh'rd  unexpectedly 
stepped  into  the  room,  setting  his  foot  on  the  same  carpet  on 
which  the  lads  were  seated,  though  in  a  distant  part  of  the 
room;  instantly  these  lads  all  jumped  up,  and  ran  out  of  the 
house  as  abruptly  as  if  they  had  seen  a  cobra  approaching. 
Such  prejudices  are  beginning  to  give  way,  especially  where 
the  Gospel  is  much  preached,  and  where  there  are  many 
Christians.  Dr.  Martin  has  of  late  observed  that  Muhamma- 
dams  particularly,  impelled  by  a  desire  to  hear  the  Gospel, 
frequently  come  and  sit  down  to  listen  where  there  are  Chuh'- 
rds, and  that  many  of  them  are  pressing  for  admission  to  the 
Christian  village  schools,  to  which  Chuh'rds  also  are  admitted. 

The  oppression  to  which  farmers  and  other  comparatively 
honorable  people  are  subjected  is  very  great,  as  was  pointed 


OUR    FIRST    CONVERTS.  1^5 

out  from  the  summit  of  Kun-Nun  ;  but  they  again,  in  turn,  are 
accustomed  to  tyrannize  with  great  cruelty  over  the  Chuh'rds, 
often  exacting  the  hardest  labor  from  them  without  paying 
anything  in  return.  It  is  rarely  the  case  that  a  Chuh'rd  enjoys 
the  privilege  of  renting  a  piece  of  land  and  cultivating  it  for 
himself.  Very  often  the  hard-earned  bundle  of  grass,  or  load 
of  fuel,  which  he  scrapes  together  in  the  jungle  and  carries  to 
market,  is  taken  from  him  by  violence ;  and  the  poor  fellow 
generally  finds  it  his  best  policy  to  submit  in  silence  to  such 
injustice,  lest  his  complaining  should  be  regarded  as  imperti- 
nence, and  bring  upon  him  more  grievous  wrongs.  Were  it  not 
for  the  great  usefulness  of  these  humble  people  to  the  more 
reputable  classes,  they  would  in  all  probability  be  crushed  out 
entirely.  But  caste  cannot  be  kept  up  without  them;  hence 
selfishness  puts  a  check  to  their  extreme  oppression. 

A  people  living  under  these  conditions  must  necessarily  be  in 
many  respects  a  degraded  people.  Being  excluded  from  soci- 
ety, from  schools,  and  from  positions  in  the  government  ser- 
vice, scarcely  any  of  them  are  able  to  read  or  write.  Their 
food  is  poor,  and  often  the  very  refuse.  They  have  at  least 
the  name  of  being  more  thievish  than  their  prouder  neighbors ; 
and  they  are  often  tempted  to  poison  cattle  for  their  hides. 
The  marriage  relation  among  them  is  treated  very  lightly. 
Their  clothing  is  poor,  scant,  and  far  from  being  cleanly;  and 
if  they  do  occasionaly  indulge  in  the  use  of  showy  dress,  this 
proves  offensive  to  their  masters.  Their  whole  personal  ap- 
pearance is  usually  that  of  a  degraded  and  depraved  people. 

To  all  this,  however,  we  sometimes  meet  with  surprising  ex- 
ceptions. It  is  probably  owing  to  their  being  employed  to  do 
drudgery  for  others,  that  their  own  houses  are  often  cleaner 
and  more  tidy  than  those  of  their  proud  Muhammadan  neigh- 
bors, who  would  disdain  to  seat  themselves  in  the  premises  of 
a  Chuh'rd.  Many  of  them,  especially  the  young,  show  that 
they  have  good  minds  when  the  opportunity  is  afforded  them 
of  intellectual  cultivation.  A  lad  of  this  low  class,  known  to 
us  as  having  a  strong  desire  to  be  educated,  applied  for  admit- 


176  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

tance  to  a  mission  school.  The  missionary  told  him  that  were 
he  to  be  admitted  all  the  other  scholars  would  leave,  and  that 
he  was  not  prepared  to  break  up  his  school  for  the  sake  of 
one  scholar.  "  But,"  said  the  lad,  "  if  you  will  only  allow  me 
to  come  in  and  learn,  I  will  turn  up  the  corner  of  the  carpet 
on  which  the  other  boys  are  seated,  and  will  sit  on  the  bare 
floor."  The  humble  lad  was  admitted,  and  is  now  a  very  use- 
ful Christian  worker.  Some  of  these  people  are  of  as  light 
complexion  as  their  high-caste  neighbors,  and  when  well-fed, 
clothed  and  taught  for  a  time,  cannot  be  distinguished  from 
them.  Their  women,  who  never  live  in  seclusion,  carry  loads 
on  their  heads — as  do  also  the  women  of  some  other  classes — 
work  in  the  fields,  and  do  almost  every  kind  of  work  that  is 
done  by  the  men  of  their  caste;  they  are  therefore  hardy,  and 
occasionally  one  may  be  seen  among  them  who  is  fairly  good- 
looking. 

These  people  are  idolaters ;  but  their  religion,  whatever 
hold  it  may  have  had  upon  them  in  some  former  age,  has  very 
little  now.  They  have  no  book  religion,  and  some  of  them  tell 
us  plainly  that  they  have  no  religion.  In  the  providence  of 
God  they  are  to  a  great  extent  destitute  of  any  form  of  reli- 
gion, as  well  as  of  social  standing,  wealth,  influence,  learning, 
power,  and  other  elements  of  earthly  greatness.  In  the  lan- 
guage of  sacred  scripture  they  are  the  "  foolish,  weak,  base  and 
despised  things  of  the  world,  and  things  which  are  not."  We 
were  forcibly  struck  with  the  application  of  this  language  to 
them  recently,  when  searching  for  them  on  a  map  made  by 
order  of  the  government,  in  which  the  tribes  of  people  were 
distinguished  by  various  colors.  There  was  no  color  for  the 
Chilli' rd;  he  was  not  only  "  base  and  despised,"  but  he  was 
one  of  the  "  things  which  are  not." 

Now  if  they  were  utterly  devoid  of  all  ambition — if  they 
passively,  absolutely,  and  hopelessly  accepted  the  degraded 
position  to  which  caste-pride  has  assigned  them,  they  would 
afford  little  encouragement  to  the  missionary;  but  this  is  not 
the  case.    Many  of  them  are  willing  to  be  lifted  from  the  dung- 


OUR    FIRST    CONVERTS.  1 7/ 

hill.  Many  wish  to  have  their  children  educated;  and  still 
more  encouraging  is  the  fact  tljat  many  of  them  manifest  a 
teachable  spirit.  Often,  indeed,  when  the  way  of  salvation  is 
announced  to  them,  they  meekly  say,  "  We  are  great  sinners. 
We  are  very  ignorant.  Please  teach  us  what  we  are  to  do, 
and  we  are  ready  to  obey." 

The  first  baptism. — W^hen  the  political  storm  of  1857  began 
to  break  away;  when  we  began  to  realize  the  fact  that  God 
had  spared  the  lives  of  all  the  members  of  our  Mission,  whilst 
some  others  had  been  taken  away ;  when,  after  a  season  of 
compulsory  inaction  and  comparative  uselessness,  we  felt 
pressed  in  spirit  to  bestir  ourselves,  and  prove  our  lives  to  be 
worth  this  preservation — one  of  the  first  houses  we  visited  was 
that  of  a  Cluili'rd,  whose  name  was  Jau'hari.  When  one  of 
our  missionaries  sat  down  in  the  hut  of  this  poor,  old,  gray- 
headed  heathen,  and  told  him  the  story  of  Jesus  Christ,  the 
Son  of  God,  and  assured  him  that  this  same  Jesus  was  the 
friend  of  the  poor,  and  willing  to  save  just  such  sinners  as  he 
was,  the  old  man  received  these  good-tidings  with  great  de- 
light. At  the  same  time,  an  educated  high-caste  Hindu,  Ram 
Bha'jan  by  name,  was  on  the  list  of  inquirers,  and  was  ap- 
proved by  the  Session.  At  the  close  of  public  worship  on 
Sabbath  the  25th  of  October,  1857,  these  two,  representatives 
respectively  of  caste  honor  and  caste  degradation,  stood  up  to- 
gether and  received  the  rite  of  baptism.  These  were  our  first 
fruits — our  first  accession  from  the  ranks  of  heathenism — an 
important  and  joyful  event  in  our  history;  and  the  fact  that, 
in  the  case  of  these  first  converts  the  power  of  the  Gospel  to 
bring  down  the  proud  and  exalt  the  humble  was  so  signally 
displayed,  afforded  us  great  encouragement. 

On  the  14th  of  the  following  November,  Jama'tu,  another 
CJmh'rd,  was  baptized.  His  sudden  and  untimely  death,  which 
occurred  some  time  after,  was  the  first  death  in  our  native 
church,  and  his  remains  were  the  first  that  were  laid  in  our 
mission  burying-ground  at  Sial'kot. 

In  view  of  the  strong  caste-prejudice  against  Chuh'rds,  which 


178  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

was  entertained  by  all  respectable  natives,  grave  fears  were 
expressed  in  some  quarters  lest  our  receiving  them  might 
produce  an  injurious  effect  in  preventing  other  natives  of 
higher  caste  from  joining  the  Christian  ranks.  A  missionary 
remarked  publicly,  at  a  general  Missionary  Conference,  that  it 
was  "bad  policy"  to  receive  such  low  persons  at  the  begin- 
ning of  our  work.  Another  wrote,  in  the  way  of  cautioning 
us  against  receiving  them,  that  "  they  [the  Chtih'rds]  had  very 
much  to  gain  by  making  a  profession  of  Christianity."  No 
such  objections  as  these  have  been  entertained  by  our  own 
missionaries,  our  Lord's  example  in  receiving  publicans  and 
sinners  being  deemed  sufficient  authority  for  us  to  receive 
CJin]i'rds\  and  if  the  honorable,  the  wise,  and  the  great  should 
be  deterred  from  coming  to  Christ,  the  sin  would  lie  in  their 
pride,  and  not  in  our  receiving  the  lowly. 

But  no  such  result  followed  as  was  feared  by  some.  Three 
weeks  after  the  accession  last  mentioned,  a  fourth  convert,  who 
was  a  respectable  Muhammadan,  came  forward  and  was  pub- 
licly baptized ;  and  within  the  following  year  nine  more  were 
received,  all  of  whom  were  either  respectable  Muhammadans 
or  high-caste  Hindus,  and  one  of  whom  was  the  first  female 
convert. 

During  the  next  five  years  a  large  number  of  natives  from 

.all  classes  were  received  and  taught  as  inquirers.  Some  of 
them  came  from  worldly  motives,  and  remained  only  a  short 
time,  whilst  others  gave  evidence  that  they  were  seeking  the 
way  of  life ;  and  a   few  from  among  these  were  added  to  the 

'Church  from  time  to  time,  the   largest  addition  at  any  one 

time  during  this  period  being  twelve  adults,  who  were  received 

by  public  profession  and  baptism  on  the  29th  February,  1864. 

When  inquirers  and  converts  increased  in  number,  our  great 

.cares  and  burdens  began.  Many  take  for  granted  that  the 
most  difficult  part  of  our  work  is  to  preach  the  Gospel  in  a 
strange  language;  but  this  is  a  great  mistake.    T\\&  going  forth 

.  and  discipling  of  all  nations,  though  difficult,  is  comparatively 

.easy.     When  we  come  to  fulfil  the  last  part  of  the  commission. 


OUR    FIRST    CONVERTS,  •  1 79 

by  teaching  converts  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  Christ  has 
conunandcdy  it  is  then  that  our  most  difficult  work  begins. 

In  order  to  understand  something  of  this,  it  is  necessary  to 
remember  that  whenever  a  native  identified  himself  with  us — 
especially  when  he  received  Christian  baptism — from  that  very 
hour  his  neighbors,  of  whatever  creed,  began  to  hate  him  with 
a  malignant  hatred,  and  his  own  near  relatives  became  his 
bitterest  enemies.  This  hatred  was  shown  by  refusing  to  give 
him  food  or  water,  forbidding  persons  to  sell  anything  to  him, 
turning  him  out  of  house  and  home,  depriving  him  of  his  just 
share  of  his  father's  property,  setting  his  wife  and  children 
against  him,  cutting  him  off  from  all  communication  with 
them,  raising  a  mob  against  him,  beating  him,  threatening  his 
life,  shutting  him  up  without  food  in  a  dark  room,  conveying 
him  away  in  the  night  to  parts  unknown,  administering  poi- 
son, and  other  similar  treatment.  If  any  one  felt  inclined  to 
speak  a  word  in  favor  of  the  persecuted  convert,  he  well  knew 
that  by  so  doing  he  would  expose  himself  to  similar  contumely. 

This  persecution  was  the  most  virulent  against  our  earliest 
converts,  but  has  in  some  respects  become  modified  during  the 
past  thirty  years.  It  is  quite  practicable  now,  in  1885,  for 
converts  generally  to  earn  their  livelihood  as  they  were  accus- 
tomed to  do  before  their  conversion ;  and  it  is  now  no  breach 
of  Christian  charity  for  us  to  attend  only  to  their  spiritual 
needs,  giving  ourselves  exclusively  "  to  prayer  and  to  the  min- 
istry of  the  word,"  and  leaving  them  to  manage  their  own 
temporal  affairs.  But  at  the  beginning,  such  a  course  would 
have  seemed  unchristian,  inhuman,  cruel.  Nothing  at  that 
time,  as  we  then  saw  it,  appeared  more  evident  than  that  some- 
thing must  be  done  by  us  to  make  it  possible  for  them  to  live. 
They  were  stripped  of  everything  by  their  enemies,  and  thrust 
upon  our  hands  in  a  state  of  isolation  and  destitution. 

In  the  way  of  attempting  to  provide  for  the  immediate  wants 
of  these  poor  brethren,  we  took  up  collections  among  our- 
selves, and  supplied  our  converts  and  inquirers  with  food. 
This,  it  was  believed,  would  afford  us  at  least  a  brief  oppor- 


l80  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

tunity  for  teaching  inquirers  and  testing  their  sincerity,  and 
would  save  the  Christians  from  starvation  until  employment 
could  in  some  way  be  found  for  them.  But  this  scheme  was 
very  soon  discontinued.  Certain  classes  of  natives  would  come 
to  us  pretending  to  be  inquirers,  for  the  sake  of  even  three 
cents'  worth  of  meal  per  day;  and  it  was  seen  to  be  necessary 
in  all  cases  to  insist  upon  them  supporting  themselves,  as 
otherwise  we  could  have  no  satisfactory  evidence  of  their  sin- 
cerity. 

We  next  sought  to  give  them  work,  each  mission  family 
employing  as  many  as  practicable.  But  our  private  means 
were  entirely  too  limited  to  admit  of  our  helping  many  of 
them  to  a  living  in  this  way  for  any  considerable  length  of 
time.  Besides,  it  rarely  happened  that  any  of  them  were  both 
able  and  willing  to  do  such  work  as  we  could  give  them. 
Labor  requiring  no  skill,  such  as  tilling  the  ground,  was  tne 
easiest  for  us  to  provide;  but  this  was  regarded  by  even  the 
lowest  of  them  as  degrading,  and  produced  great  discontent. 
To  give  them  any  kind  of  work  which  required  a  little  knowl- 
edge, and  of  which  they  were  ignorant,  or  to  attempt,  as  we 
often  did,  to  teach  them  such  work,  proved  exceedingly 
troublesome  as  well  as  expensive. 

Many  showed  a  decided  inclination  to  live  in  idleness.  It 
is  a  prevailing  sentiment  in  India  that  to  be  truly  religious  a 
man  must  live  by  begging,  and  must  not  engage  in  any  form 
of  industry.  This  sentiment  appears  quite  absurd  to  us  who 
are  born  and  educated  in  a  land  of  Bibles.  The  doctrine  that 
a  man  must  either  work  or  starve,  is  universally  accepted 
among  us,  and  enforced  by  the  sternest  discipline;  for  it  is 
written,  "  If  any  would  not  work,  neither  should  he  eat."  But 
the  benighted  native  of  India  is  a  stranger  to  all  this.  To 
raise  a  family  for  the  support  of  whom  he  must  work,  is  equiv- 
alent in  his  estimation  to  entering  upon  a  worldly  life,  in  a 
sense  that  is  inconsistent  with  religion.  Men  who  have  fam- 
ilies, and  are  under  the  necessity  of  working  to  support  them, 
regard  it  as  an  impossibility  for  them  to  be  religious,  because 


OUR    FIRST   CONVERTS.  l8l 

they  are  hopelessly  entangled  in  the  things  of  this  world; 
whilst  even  the  poorest  and  hardest-working  people  among 
them  believe  it  a  sacred  duty  to  give  alms  to  an  able-bodied 
fakir'  as  often  as  he  comes  to  their  doors  to  beg. 

We  soon  found  that  a  vigorous  and  persevering  effort  was 
necessary  on  our  part  to  prevent  this  false  idea  of  work  from 
gaining  a  place  in  our  young  Christian  community,  and  spread- 
ing like  some  deadly  plague.  To  devise  work  for  our  con- 
verts was  difficult.  To  induce  them  to  take  hold  industriously 
and  do  with  their  might  whatsoever  their  hands  found  to  do, 
was  ten-fold  more  so.  But  the  most  difficult  task  of  all  was  to 
prevent,  or  to  remedy,  the  many  evils  which  were  naturally 
resulting  from  idleness,  and  threatening  our  whole  work  with 
utter  ruin.  By  all  these  things  we  were  grievously  burdened. 
It  was  painful  to  go  among  our  dependent  Christian  brethren, 
or  to  meet  them,  or  even  to  see  men  coming  to  us  professing 
to  be  inquirers.  They  were  miserably  dependent,  they  looked 
servilely  to  us,  and  we  were  powerless  to  relieve  them.  The 
saddest  feature  of  it  all  was  that  the  few  to  whom  we  succeeded 
in  giving  employment  in  some  possible  way,  often  looked 
upon  their  work  as  a  degradation — performed  it  unwillingly, 
and  were  so  very  unsatisfactory  that  we  would  gladly  have 
given  them  their  wages  without  their  work,  had  it  not  been 
necessary  to  teach  them  the  Christian  obligation  of  industry. 
The  larger  number  of  them,  who,  after  all  our  efforts,  still  re- 
mained without  employment,  were  constantly  on  our  minds. 
They  haunted  us  night  and  day,  laying  their  burden  upon  us 
at  every  turn,  and  weighing  down  our  spirits  like  an  unceasing 
nightmare. 

When  these  troubles  grew  beyond  our  powers  of  endurance, 
we  sought  relief  by  commencing  what  was  known  as  the  In- 
dustrial School,  the  aim  of  which  was  to  furnish  ready  and 
remunerative  employment  to  the  idle  and  dependent.  With 
this  in  view,  we  set  them  to  manufacturing  soap,  oil,  turpen- 
tine, candles,  and  other  useful  articles  required  by  English  fam- 
ilies and  soldiers  of  the  British  army.     The  teaching  of  such 


l82  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

branches  of  industry  to  pupils  who  were  slow  to  learn,  espe- 
cially when  we  were  entirely  dependent  on  books  for  our  own 
knowledge,  was  an  undertaking  which  demanded  a  long,  pa- 
tient, persevering  effort  in  the  face  of  innumerable  difficulties. 
Everything  was  necessarily  begun  on  the  smallest  possible  scale 
and  with  the  most  scrupulous  regard  to  economy,  for  very 
little  could  be  taken  from  mission  funds  to  be  spent  on  such 
work,  and  it  was  impossible  for  us  to  spare  anything  worth 
while  from  private  resources. 

In  the  course  of  two  or  three  years  the  industrial  school  be- 
gan to  show  evident  signs  of  success.  Our  worry  was  greatly 
diminished  by  having  a  definite  and  systematic  plan  for  em- 
ploying the  idle;  all  excuse  for  idleness  was  removed;  and  the 
principle  that  men  must  "  work  and  eat  their  ozvn  bread','  was 
established.  Not  only  were  the  manufactured  articles  sala- 
ble; but  when  samples  of  them  were  placed  on  exhibition  at 
the  State  Fair  in  Labor,  they  received  in  many  cases  the  first 
prizes,  and  came  to  be  in  demand  at  prices  which  promised  to 
make  the  industrial  school  self-sustaining  as  soon  as  its  appli- 
ances would  be  moderately  enlarged. 

In  order  to  extend  the  usefulness  of  our  school,  we  began  to 
hold  small  annual  fairs  in  the  mission  for  the  special  encour- 
agement of  the  Christian  converts.  English  gentlemen  in 
Sial'kot  attended  our  little  fairs,  and  small  prizes  were  dis- 
tributed for  sewing,  knitting,  mending,  house-keeping,  garden- 
ing, and  all  kinds  of  domestic  work,  as  well  as  for  the  articles 
manufactured  for  sale.  The  effect  of  all  this  was  very  marked, 
especially  in  the  more  cleanly  and  improved  appearance  of  the 
whole  Christian  community,  in  their  clothing,  their  persons 
and  homes. 


CHAPTER    XIII. 

THE    MISSION    ORPHANAGE,    1 85 7-64. 

THE   MISSION    ORPHANAGE — PIYA^RI    HARPER — GOOD   WILLIE — WILLIAM 
BRUCE — MA^RIYAM — JENNIE  DEAN — MI^RAN — ACCESSIONS, 

IT  will  be  remembered  that  before  the  outbreak  of  the  Sepoy- 
Mutiny  we  had  established  a  Mission  Orphanage  in  Sial'- 
kot,  and  that  Charles  Cape,  Willie  Belle  and  Piyar'i  Harper  had 
been  received  into  it  as  its  first  inmates.  As  the  friends  of 
our  mission  felt  a  deep  interest  in  this  branch  of  work,  and 
contributed  freely  to  its  support,  I  will  record  briefly  its 
growth  and  some  of  its  fruits. 

When  Piya'ri  Harper  was  rescued  from  the  prostitutes  of 
Gujrat  and  sent  to  us  by  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  that  city,  she 
was  three  and  a  half  years  old — a  slender,  delicate,  pretty  little 
creature,  active  and  playful,  seemingly  consisting  of  mind  and 
spirit,  cumbered  only  with  the  least  possible  quantity  of  matter. 
Her  clear  apprehension  of  divine  truth,  and  her  application  of  it 
to  herself,  began  very  early  to  attract  our  attention.  When  she 
was  thought  to  be  too  young  to  learn  to  read,  she  caught  up 
verses  from  the  lips  of  older  children.  As  she  was  skipping 
and  running  about  at  her  play,  one  day,  Miss  Gordon  over- 
heard her  repeating,  "The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  the  beginning 
of  knowledge;  but  fools  despise  wisdom  and  instruction." 
The  mere  remembering  and  repeating  of  what  she  had  heard 
was  not  in  itself  remarkable ;  but  the  tone  and  emphasis  with 
with  which  she  uttered  the  words  ''fools  despise"  showed  that 
she  was  resolved  to  be  one  of  the  wise ;  and  the  more  actively 
she  hopped  and  skipped,  the  more  emphatically  she  expressed' 
her  resolution.  Another  verse  learned  in  the  same  way  was 
"  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart,  with 
all  thy  soul,  with  all  thy  strength,  and  with  all  thy  mind.'" 

(183) 


184  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

On  this  she  commented  in  the  midst  of  her  childish  sports 
thus:  "It  is  very  little  strength  that  /  have;  but  whatever 
strength  there  is  in  me,  with  that  I  must  love  the  Lord." 
These  things,  in  so  young  a  child  who  had  but  recently  been 
rescued  from  the  depths  of  vice,  appeared  so  remarkable  to 
Miss  Gordon  that  she  felt  deeply  impressed  by  them.  They 
were  not  the  result  of  any  special  effort  on  her  part  in  behalf 
of  Piya'ri — such  efforts  being  all  directed  to  the  older  girls — 
but  the  evident  result  of  the  Spirit's  teaching.  The  writer  can 
never  forget  the  marked  and  intelligent  interest  with  which 
the  child  always  listened  to  his  preaching,  and  the  clear-  out- 
line which  she  used  to  give  of  the  whole  sermon  of  a  Sabbath 
evening  when  catechised  along  with  the  other  children.  At 
the  age  of  ten,  she  applied  to  be  received  into  church  mem- 
bership. The  elders  who  examined  her  with  the  view  to  her 
admission,  thinking  she  might  be  too  young,  asked,  among 
other  questions,  whether  she  believed  that  Jesus  could  give 
her  good  things  if  she  sought  them  in  prayer.  She  answered 
this  in  the  affirmative.  Then  they  enquired  how  it  would  be 
if  she  asked  him  for  anything  bad.  With  much  emphasis  and 
seriousness  she  replied,  "  Us  ke  pas  ko'i  burl  cJiiz  ha'i  bki 
jtah'in."  (With  him  any  bad  thing  does  not  even  exist.) 
After  manifesting  such  a  high  appreciation  of  her  Saviour, 
she  was  received  into  full  membership,  notwithstanding  her 
tender  age. 

It  was  observed  by  Mrs.  Barr,  who  had  charge  of  the  orphan 
girls  for  a  time,  that  Piya'ri,  of  her  own  accord,  gathered  all 
the  other  girls  for  worship,  and  took  the  lead  in  its  exercises. 
When  the  oldest  girls  were  married,  and  had  left  the  Orphan- 
age, there  still  remained  some  who  were  older  than  Piya'ri. 
One  day,  taking  her  knitting  and  seating  herself  beside  Miss 
Gordon,  she  said,  "  Miss  Sahiba,  I  feel  now  a  very  great  re- 
sponsibility ;  for  all  the  girls  look  to  me  for  example  and  coun- 
sel, doing  willingly  whatever  I  bid  them.  What  if  I  should 
misdirect  them!     What  a  weighty  responsibility!" 

This,  to  Miss  Gordon,  was  a  new  phase  of  things.     Others, 


THE    MISSION    ORPHANAGE.  1 85 

when  placed  over  the  girls,  had  often  made  complaints  of  their 
disobedience;  but  here  was  a  young  girl  watching  for  their 
souls  with  such  earnestness  and  singleness  of  purpose  that  their 
very  obedience  to  her  word  and  example  was  oppressing  her 
own  soul  with  a  sense  of  responsibility  for  her  personal  influ- 
ence. Miss  Gordon  has  repeatedly  said  that  Piya'ri  Harper 
was,  without  exception,  the  best  girl  she  ever  knew. 

In  the  days  of  the  Sepoy  mutiny  a  little  boy,  whose  name 
was  Gopal',  was  sent  to  us  by  the  government  authorities ;  we 
gave  him  the  name  Goodwillie.  He  has  never  been  remark- 
able either  as  to  talents  or  attainments;  but  he  is  a  Christian, 
and  down  to  the  present  time  is  making  himself  useful,  in  a 
humble  way,  as  a  helper  in  mission  work. 

William  Bruce  is  the  name  which  was  given  to  a  very  prom- 
ising lad  of  about  fifteen,  who  was  sent  to  us  near  the  same 
time  with  Goodwillie.  Bruce  became  a  worker  of  only  mod- 
erate usefulness,  and  continued  to  labor  either  in  our  own  or 
some  other  mission  until  his  death,  which  occurred  about  five 
years  ago. 

Ma'riyam,  a  girl  twelve  years  old,  and  a  daughter  of  one  of 
the  Sepoys  who  mutinied  at  Sial'kot,  after  making  a  narrow 
escape  from  drowning  in  the  river  RaVi  at  the  battle  fought 
near  Gurdas'pur,  was  sent  to  our  Orphanage.  In  striking  con- 
trast with  Piya'ri,  this  girl  possessed  great  physical  strength 
and  hardiness,  and  a  strong  intellect  and  will,  and  was  disobe- 
dient, stubborn,  and  incorrigibly  wicked.  She  was  married  in 
the  course  of  time,  but  afterwards  divorced  on  just  grounds, 
and  never  gave  evidence  of  repentance.  On  one  occasion, 
when  Miss  Gordon  was  speaking  to  the  girls  of  the  sin  and 
danger  of  unbelief,  Ma'riyam  became  alarmed,  and  cried  out, 
"  I  am  terribly  afraid  !  Pray  for  me — pray  for  faith — pray  just 
now!"  Her  alarm  soon  passed  away,  apparently  without  any 
permanent  good  result. 

One  good  thing  must  be  said  of  her — she  was  a  good  nurse. 
When  there  was  much  sickness  in  the  Orphanage,  and  Miss 
Gordon  was  worn  out  by  continuons  watching  and   nursing 


1 86  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

single-handed,  Ma'riyam,  first  and  foremost  of  all  the  native 
girls  and  women  of  our  Christian  community,  came  forward 
while  the  rest  looked  idly  on,  and  took  hold  of  this  important 
work  with  such  aptness  and  energy  that  she  has  ever  since 
been  gratefully  remembered. 

In  the  Sial'kot  Cantonments  was  a  Poor  House,  supported 
by  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  station,  into  which  were 
gathered  a  number  of  poor,  maimed,  lame,  blind,  sick  and 
superannuated  men  and  women,  with  their  children.  It  was 
our  privilege  to  distribute  alms  among  these  afflicted  ones  and 
to  preach  the  Gospel  to  them  once  a  week,  on  account  of 
which  they  naturally  learned  to  regard  us  as  their  friends. 
Two  of  them — a  man  and  his  wife — died,  so  near  the  same 
time  that  I  have  forgotten  which  of  them  went  first,  leaving  a 
little  orphan  girl  whose  name  was  Mun'ni.  A  day  or  two 
afterwards  we  were  surprised  at  the  sight  of  the  whole  Poor 
House  community,  who,  after  a  journey  of  three  miles,  some 
limping,  some  hobbling  on  crutches  and  others  leading  the 
blind,  at  last  confronted  us  at  our  South  Premises.  With 
marked  formality  they  presented  little  Mun'n'i  to  us,  instead 
of  giving  her  to  heathen  relatives,  and  unanimously  requested 
us  to  take  her  into  our  Orphanage.  This  child  was  named  by 
us  Jennie  Dean,  and  remained  with  Mrs.  Hill  as  long  as  the 
latter  lived  in  India. 

Two  girls  were  rescued  by  the  civil  authorities  from  an  im- 
moral institution  in  Gujranwa'la,  and  sent  to  us  on  the  14th  of 
January,  1S59.  After  some  hesitation  on  account  of  their  age 
and  antecedents,  we  admitted  them.  Both  girls  did  well,  and 
were  given  in  marriage  not  long  after  to  Christian  husbands. 
One  of  them,  whose  name  was  Mi'ran,  was  remarkable  for  her 
industry,  every  task  assigned  her  being  undertaken  cheerfully 
and  executed  energetically  and  earnestly.  She  mastered  the 
whole  alphabet  before  her  classmates  were  able  to  learn  six 
letters;  and  afterwards,  chiefly  by  her  own  voluntary  efforts  in 
spare  moments,  read  the  whole  New  Testament,  and  com- 
mitted to  memory  the  Shorter  Catechism.     Knitting,  crochet- 


THE    MISSION    ORPHANAGE.  1 87 

ing,  cutting  out  garments,  sewing  and  other  useful  branches  of 
domestic  industry,  were  all  quickly  learned.  She  was  married 
and  afterwards  forsaken  by  her  husband.  She  was  then  taken 
back  into  the  Orphanage  where  she  soon  made  herself  indis- 
pensable by  her  aptness  in  every  kind  of  work  required  in 
such  an  institution.  One  morning,  whilst  cooking  the  break- 
fast, she  had  occasion  to  turn  her  back  for  a  moment  towards 
the  open  fire;  in  a  moment  her  skirt  was  all  ablaze  and  she 
was  severely  burned.  Everything  that  medical  skill  and  careful 
nursing  could  do  for  her,  was  done;  but  she  gradually  sunk 
away,  and,  after  suffering  ten  days,  died  on  the  nth  of  Octo- 
ber, i860.  Mi'ran's  course  was  short  and  brilliant.  Her 
sojourn  with  us,  of  only  twenty-one  months,  is  remembered  as 
of  one  who  unconsciously  made  diligent  haste  to  accomplish 
her  allotted  work.  The  most  important  thing  to  record  is 
that  she  was  a  believer.  Her  love  for  God's  Word,  her  con- 
sistent life,  and  her  desire  for  the  salvation  of  others,  leave  no 
doubt  as  to  the  genuineness  of  her  piety.  "  O,  that  some  one 
could  tell  her  of  Jesus!"  was  her  exclamation  on  hearing  that 
a  Muhammadan  neighbor  was  at  the  point  of  death.  The 
sudden  and  untimely  death  of  this  girl  is  recorded  as  the  first 
from  our  Orphanage. 

In  1863  a  number  of  orphans — both  boys  and  girls — whom 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hill  had  under  their  care  on  the  North  Mission 
Premises,  were  transferred  to  the  regular  Orphanage  on  the 
South  Premises,  when  they  left  India  for  America. 

In  the  year  1864  a  number  of  gypsies  were  arrested  in  the 
Gujranwa'la  District  for  stealing  and  dealing  in  counterfeit 
money.  The  adults  were  imprisoned,  and  their  children — 
nine  boys  and  ten  girls — were  sent  to  our  Orphanage.  These 
accessions  introduced  several  very  interesting  characters,  of 
whom  the  reader  shall  hear  again. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

THOMAS   STINSON A    NOTED    BRAHMIN. 

BAL  KRISHN,  one  of  the  scholars  in  our  Mission  school 
in  the  city  of  Sial'kot,  was  a  tall  lad,  of  no  decided  capa- 
city, about  fifteen  years  of  age.  He  was  a  Brahmin,  and  a 
grandson  of  Ka'ka  Ram,  the  most  learned  and  distinguished 
Pan'dit  in  Bena'res,  the  great  seat  of  Hindu  learning  and 
superstition.  Whatever  good  there  was  in  caste,  therefore, 
Bal  Krishn  was  in  a  position  to  claim  and  enjoy  to  the  utmost. 
This  much,  at  least,  there  was  in  it,  that  he  could  travel  with- 
out expense  from  Bena'res  all  through  the  North-west  within 
a  distance  of  one  thousand  miles  and  be  everywhere  hos- 
pitably and  honorably  entertained,  because  he  was  a  grandson 
of  Pan'dit  Kaka  Ram. 

After  Bal  Krishn  had  entered  our  Mission  school,  and  had 
studied  the  Bible,  which  was  taught  daily  to  all  the  boys,  he 
caused  a  great  commotion  both  in  the  school  and  throughout 
the  city,  by  avowing  himself  a  Christian.  This  occurred  in 
September,  1859.  The  citizens  forthwith  refused  to  send  their 
boys  any  longer  to  our  school,  and  the  number  of  scholars  was 
suddenly  reduced  from  ninety  to  fifteen.  At  first  the  Brah- 
mins of  the  city  purposed  turning  out  in  a  body  to  invade  our 
premises ;  but  they  were  afterwards  persuaded  by  the  kind  in- 
terposition of  some  of  our, native  friends  in  the  city  to  rest  sat- 
isfied with  only  sending  a  deputation.  Accordingly  a  number 
of  native  gentlemen  came  to  see  us  on  behalf  of  the  Brahmins 
of  the  city,  and  the  boy  was  brought  into  their  presence.  They 
inquired  whether  we  had  influenced  him  by  force,  fraud  or 
bribery,  and  at  the  same  time  attempted  by  means  of  intimida- 
tion to  make  him  recant.  We  replied  that  we  had  used  neither 
fraud  nor  bribery ;  we  also  assured  them   that  force  had  not 

(188)    . 


4 

THOMAS    STINSON,  A    NOTED    BRAHMIN.  1 89 

been  employed  by  us,  and  gave  them  to  understand  that  we 
would  not  permit  them  to  use  it,  and  that  the  boy  being  now 
before  them  could  answer  for  himself  Bal  Krishn  then  called 
for  paper,  and  wrote  out,  signed,  and  handed  to  them  a  declara- 
tion to  the  effect  that  he  had  become  a  Christian  for  his  soul's 
salvation,  and  that  this  was  his  own  voluntary  act. 

After  a  few  days  the  deputation  again  visited  us,  accompa- 
nied by  a  Brahmin,  who  came  in  the  name  of  the  King  of 
Kashmir.  This  man  brought  a  bag  of  money,  which  he  of- 
fered in  our  presence  to  give  to  Bal  Krishn  if  he  would  return 
to  Brahminism.  He  also  promised  him  land  and  wives  to  his 
heart's  content;  but  these  tempting  offers  were  promptly 
declined. 

This  lad  desired  to  be  removed  from  the  city  school  and 
taken  in  with  the  orphan  boys  on  our  South  Mission  premises. 
I  thought  him  too  old  for  admission  to  the  orphanage,  and  in 
order  to  dissuade  him  from  entering,  said,  "  You  will  have 
nothing  to  eat  but  coarse  food,  whereas  you  have  always  been 
used  to  the  best." 

"  No  matter,"  said  he,  "  I  will  be  satisfied  with  orphans' 
fare." 

"  But  you  will  be  required  to  work,"  I  again  objected. 

"  No  matter  for  that ;  I  am  willing  to  work." 

"  I  will  have  to  whip  you  sometimes  if  you  misbehave,"  I 
continued. 

"  You  may  whip  me  when  I  misbehave,"  he  said,  still 
pressing  his  request  for  admission  to  the  orphanage. 

He  was  admitted  and  was  named  Thomas  Stinson,  after  a 
worthy  gentleman  of  that  name  in  Philadelphia. 

Not  long  after  a  great  mel'd  was  held  in  the  vicinity  of 
Sial'kot,  and  Thomas  was  eager  to  go  and  see  the  sights.  I 
thought  he  perhaps  intended  to  desert  us;  and,  as  it  seemed 
to  me  better  that  he  should  be  free  to  do  so  then  rather  than 
later,  I  gave  him  permission  to  go.  He  went,  accordingly, 
but  contrary  to  my  expectation,  returned  the  same  evening. 

As  time  passed,  it  became  evident  that  Thomas  was  not  as 


190  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

well  satisfied  with  orphans'  fare  as  he  had  thought  he  would 
be,  for  all  his  spare  change  was  spent  for  good  things  to  eat. 
In  one  instance,  at  least,  he  resorted  to  deception  in  order  to 
procure  a  fatted  fowl,  and  in  other  instances  used  improper 
means  to  obtain  table  luxuries,  all  for  himself.  Those  were 
the  days  in  which  we  were  at  our  wits'  end  in  regard  to  how 
we  could  find  suitable  employment  for  the  Christians,  and  for 
the  orphan  boys  among  the  rest.  One  day  I  went  from  home 
on  the  special  business  of  looking  up  some  kind  of  industry  at 
which  to  employ  them.  Several  hours  were  spent  in  search- 
ing through  the  bazars  of  Sial'kot,  in  the  hope  of  finding  some- 
thing which  would  suggest  a  business  that  could  be  started 
for  them.  When  I  returned  to  look  after  my  charge,  Thomas 
was  gone;  and  we  never  saw  him  or  found  any  very  certain 
trace  of  him  afterwards.  Whether  his  departure  was  caused 
by  outside  influences,  or  whether  he  himself,  tiring  of  the  re- 
striction under  which  he  was  held,  voluntarily  left  us,  we 
know  not.  Cases  of  either  kind  are  not  infrequent,  and  only 
God  knows  in  whose  service  the  missing  one  is  now  enlisted. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING    AMONG    THE    MEGS. 

SHELL  AND  KERNEL  OF  MISSIONS — MASTAN  SINGH,  THE  ATHEIST,  CON- 
FOUNDED—  THIRSTING  FOR  GOD — JOA^HIR  MASIH^  CARRIES  GLAD 
TIDINGS  TO  JHANDRAN — "  WE  NEVER  HEARD  WORDS  LIKE  THESE" — A 
DELEGATION  VISITS  THE  MISSIONARIES  IN  SIAL^KOT — PREACHING  DAY 
AND  NIGHT — TWO  LADS  START  ON  A  PILGRIMAGE  —  EIGHTY  PERSONS 
SEEK  BAPTISM — PERSECUTION  HINDERS  THE  GOOD  WORK — CONDITIONS 
LAID — DIVISION  AMONG  THE  EIGHTY — BEATEN  NEARLY  TO  DEATH — 
CANNOT  BE  INDUCED  TO  FORSAKE  OR  DENY  HIS  SAVIOUR — COMING 
SECRETLY  BY  NIGHT — A  GENUINE  WORK  OF  THE  SPIRIT  OF  GOD. 

THE  Foreign  Missionary  enterprise  should  be  viewed  in- 
ternally as  well  as  externally — as  consisting  of  shell  and 
kernel.  The  movements  of  Foreign  Missionaries,  the  labors 
they  perform,  the  institutions  they  establish,  the  methods  by 
which  they  work,  and  the  hardships  which  they  endure — these 
are  the  externals ;  they  constitute  the  shell.  On  the  other 
hand,  when  a  heathen  repents  and  believes,  when  he  tells 
others  of  his  newly-found  Saviour  and  helps  to  spread  the 
Gospel  leaven,  when  he  develops  under  persecution  into  a 
lovely  Christian  character,  when  he  lives,  acts  and  suffers  on 
new  principles — a  mystery  and  a  wonder  to  all  men  and  hated 
by  all — when  other  heathen  see  his  good  works,  and  give  glory 
to  God,  when  churches  spring  up  in  the  midst  of  idolaters  and 
assume  responsibilty  for  the  Lord's  work — when  such  results 
appear  we  may  call  them  internal ;  the  two  bearing  the  relation 
to  each  other  of  shell  and  kernel,  and  one  being  as  important 
as  the  other,  only  because  they  are  inseparable  in  their  devel- 
opment. But,  apart  from  this,  the  kernel  is  vastly  more  im- 
portant, being  of  permanent  value  and  interest,  whilst  the  shell 
is  only  transient.     To  the  internal  features  of  the  work,  there- 

(19O 


192  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

fore,  I  shall  give  my  attention  in  some  of  the  chapters  which 
follow. 

In  the  village  of  Chat'tiyanwa'la,  in  the  southwest  part  of  the 
civil  district  of  Gujranwa'la,  there  lived  a  native  gentleman  of 
rank,  who  owned  a  large  estate  and  was  independently  rich. 
Mastan  Singh,  this  gentleman's  youngest  son,  was  a  tall,  noble- 
looking  young  man  of  respectable  talents  and  fair  education, 
and  being  a  man  of  pleasing  address,  was  naturally  fitted  to 
make  his  way  in  the  world  successfully.  Being  religiously  in- 
clined, he  determined  to  become  a  giiri'i  (spiritual  guide).  But 
he  was  too  much  enlightened  to  follow  any  of  the  beaten  tracks 
of  Hindus,  Muhammadans  or  Sikhs,  and  chose  to  adopt  the 
more  modern  and  rationalistic  views  of  Gulab^  Das.  Accord- 
ingly, when  he  was  twenty-five  or  thirty  years  of  age,  he  left 
home  to  seek  out  a  community  in  which  he  could  establish 
himself  as  a  gm^u,  and  teach  men  the  way  to  everlasting  hap- 
piness. Traveling  eastward  he  made  a  halt  at  Jhandran,  a 
large  village  three  miles  south  of  Zafarwal'.  In  this  village 
were  twenty-five  families  oi  Megs,  a  caste  of  Hindus  who  live 
chiefly,  but  not  exclusively,  by  weaving,  and  who  are  some- 
times called  Jidd'hds,  a  general  name  for  weavers,  of  whom 
there  are  600,000  in  the  Panjab'. 

The  Megs  of  Jhandran  and  its  neighborhood  had  in  some 
degree  lost  their  enthusiastic  attachment  to  their  old  idolatrous 
faith,  and  were  thirsting  after  something  better.  Ra'ma,  one 
of  the  two  head  men  of  these  twenty-five  families,  followed 
farming  for  a  livelihood,  and  owned  as  much  property,  perhaps, 
as  all  the  rest  combined;  being  the  Lambarddr,  he  was  the 
proper  person  to  transact  business  with  outsiders;  to  him, 
therefore,  Mastan  Singh  addressed  himself 

Gurus  and  fakirs  are  revered  by  the  people  of  India,  even 
when  they  exhibit,  as  they  often  do,  the  most  disgusting  traits 
— exposing  their  persons  besmeared  with  ashes,  and  all  but 
stark  naked — having  a  filthy  head  of  hair,  all  tangled  and 
matted  into  a  rope  several  yards  long — possessing  rude  and 
selfish  manners,  and  being  the  very  personification  of  pride,  in- 


RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING    AMONG   THE    MEGS.  I93 

solence,  ignorance,  indolence  and  sottishness.  But  Mastan 
Singh,  although  a  fakir,  was  yet  an  educated  gentleman.  A 
lodging  place  was  therefore  assigned  him;  he  was  provided 
with  a  comfortable  bed,  clean  clothes,  good  food,  and  a  servant, 
and  was  even  entertained  with  music.  After  hospitalities, 
better  than  those  poor  weavers  could  well  afford,  had  been 
thus  bestowed  upon  him,  he  introduced  the  subject  of  religion 
with  this  important  question,  "  Have  you  people  ever  found 
God?" 

Besides  Ra'ma,  there  were  other  men  who  enjoyed  some 
prominence  in  the  Meg  community  of  Jhandran'.  Unstable 
Faki'ra  had  hitherto  been  their  Gn'ril;  and  honest  Pi'po,  a 
delicate  man  with  a  grave  and  intelligent  countenance,  was  so 
well  educated  that  he  could  read ;  these  two,  even  more  than 
Ra'ma,  felt  deeply  interested  in  the  momentous  question  pro- 
pounded by  Mastan  Singh;  to  which  their  unhesitating  and 
unanimous  answer  was,  "  No,  we  have  not  found  God." 

"  I  am  quite  sure  you  have  not,"  said  Mastan  Singh  ;  "  for 
God  is  not  to  be  found  in  the  religion  of  either  Hindus  or 
Muhammadans.  But  I  can  reveal  him  to  you ;  and  if  I  shall 
bring  him  near  to  you,  even  causing  your  eyes  to  see  him,  will 
you  receive  and  follow  me  as  your  Gu'ruf" 

"  Most  certainly,"  replied  Ra'ma.  "  It  is  this  very  thing  that 
we  are  all  earnestly  seeking;  this  is  the  great  desire  of  our 
hearts.  If  you  can  satisfy  us  in  regard  to  it,  we  shall  know 
that  you  are  a  man  of  truth;  we  will  then  reject  all  other  reli- 
gions and  religious  teachers,  and  you  shall  be  our  Gii'rii. 

Pi'po  and  Faki'ra,  alarmed  at  the  thought  of  supporting  so 
expensive  a  gentleman  as  Mastan  Singh,  observed  to  Ra'ma, 
"We  are  coming  under  grave  responsibilities.  Uncle;  just 
think  of  two  pounds  of  wheat  meal  and  two  pounds  of  milk 
every  day,  besides  clarified  butter,  salt,  spices  and  tobacco! 
Then  he  will  have  to  be  supplied  with  a  bed,  clothing,  and  a 
servant.  If  yoii^  Uncle,  will  undertake  all  this,  then  it  will  be 
possible;  but  what  can  Wd' do,  who  have  nothing  to  depend 
upon  but  our  looms?" 
13 


194  OUR    INDIA    MISSION.    • 

"  Very  well,"  said  Ra'ma,  "  I  will  supply  the  meal,  milk, 
sugar  and  servant,  leaving  the  rest  of  you  to  provide  the  few 
little  sundries  which  remain."  Then,  turning  to  Mastan  Singh 
he  added,  "  I  do  this  on  conditions  which  must  be  distinctly 
understood:  First,  all  in  our  community,  young  and  old,  as 
many  as  wish  to  attend,  must  be  taught  without  charge.  Sec- 
ond, this  great  desire  of  our  hearts  must  be  satisfied,  so  that 
there  shall  remain  no  necessity  for  our  going  abroad  anywhere 
in  search  of  God." 

P'i'po  and  Faki'ra  cheerfully  undertook  to  bear  the  light  end 
of  the  burden.  Mastan  Singh  agreed  to  Ra'ma's  conditions. 
The  bargain  was  concluded  and  teaching  begun. 

Mastan  Singh's  mode  of  teaching  was  very  wisely  adapted 
to  a  people  who  were  compelled  to  work  all  day,  and  very  few 
of  whom  were  able  to  read.  His  course  of  instruction,  which 
was  extensive  enough  to  have  made  a  large  book,  was  all  at 
his  tongue's  end.  Dispensing  entirely  with  text-books,  he 
gathered  his  disciples  together  every  evening,  and  taught  them 
a  short  lesson  which  they  were  required  to  learn  by  heart. 
If  any  one  was  absent  an  evening,  he  must  learn  the  neglected 
lesson  from  others  and  be  ready  to  rehearse  it  the  next  even- 
ing. This  course  was  continued  for  eighteen  long  months,  be- 
fore the  expiration  of  which  they  were  all  completely  wearied 
with  memorizing.  Toward  the  end  of  that  period,  having  dis- 
proved Hinduism  and  Muhammadanism,  he  proceeded  cau- 
tiously to  make  known  his  own  doctrines,  among  which  were 
the  following: 

I.  We  have  no  spirits. 

n.  The  four  elements,  fire,  air,  earth  and  water,  of  which 
our  bodies  are  composed,  are  all  that  there  is  of  us  ;  and  each 
of  these  will,  at  our  death,  mingle  with  its  kindred  element  in 
nature. 

HI.  There  are  no  rewards  and  no  punishments — no  heaven, 
no  hell.  As  when  a  man  sees  a  rope  and  imagines  it  to  be  a 
serpent,  so  it  is  through  a  groundless  fear  that  men  do  what- 
ever they  do  religiously. 


RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING    AMONG   THE    MEGS.  I95 

IV.  We  ought  not  to  believe  in  idols  nor  in  any  other  thing 
as  God,  for  there  is  no  one  to  whom  we  will  be  required  to 
give  account,  and  no  one  will  require  an  account  of  us. 

V.  Greater  than  man  there  is  no  one.  Whatever  there  is, 
therefore,  is  now  before  your  eyes. 

Such  shocking  doctrines  as  these,  palmed  upon  the  Megs  as 
the  reward  of  their  eighteen  months'  labor  and  expense,  was 
an  intolerable  disappointment.  They  felt  crestfallen  and 
angry,  and  unanimously  turned  against  the  detected  imposter. 

"  You  have,  indeed.  Reverend  Sir,"  said  they,  "  dug  up  both 
Hinduism  and  Muhammadanism  by  the  roots ;  but  you  have 
not  given  us  one  ray  of  light." 

Mastan  Singh  was  now  put  on  the  defensive,  and  for  three 
days  a  hot  discussion  ensued.  His  talent,  book  learning,  and 
experience  in  controversy  proving  at  length  too  much  for 
the  Megs,  they  retired  bodily,  held  a  consultation,  and  agreed 
upon  a  proposition  to  be  laid  before  him.  Then,  returning  to 
the  encounter  with  Pi'po  as  their  spokesman,  they  propounded 
their  ultimatum  thus: 

"  Reverend  Sir,  we  will  now  waive  all  questions  of  books 
and  creeds,  for  we  are  unlearned;  but  we  ask  you  to  satisfy  us 
on  just  one  point,  and  if  you  will  do  this  we  will  believe  and 
follow  you.  You  have  taught  us  that  there  is  no  being  greater 
than  man,  and  you  acknowledge  no  one  greater  than  yourself. 
Now,  if  you  will  show  us  some  proof  of  your  creative,  life- 
giving  power,  we  will  be  satisfied  to  follow  your  teaching. 
We  ask  not  that  you  make  a  buffalo,  camel,  or  elephant,  but 
only  a  little  worm ;  and  we  know  that  you  can  even  make  this 
of  clay ;  but  make  one,  be  it  ever  so  small,  and  give  it  life,  so 
that  it  shall  go — and  we  will  believe." 

Mastan  Singh  had  hitherto  very  confidently  trusted  that  his 
superior  sharpness  and  learning  were  equal  to  any  emergency ; 
but  here  was  a  poser  indeed,  and  everything  depended  on  his 
meeting  it  fairly.  For  a  while  he  was  intensely  agitated ;  then, 
losing  all  heart,  he  gave  up  the  contest  and  confessed  himself 
defeated. 


196  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

P'i'po,  after  again  holding  a  brief  consultation  with  his  peo- 
ple, addressed  Mastan'  Singh  thus :  "  Your  Reverence  will 
please  not  to  be  angry.  If  your  Reverence  cannot  do  this 
much,  then  you  can  do  nothing,  neither  can  you  be  our  Gu'ru: 
you  can  only  refute  Hindus  and  Muhammadans.  There  is, 
after  all,  One  who  is  greater  than  man — One  who  gives  life, 
gives  us  a  spirit,  and  takes  it  again — and  to  him  must  we  give 
account.  As  to  our  fear  of  wrath  to  come,  you  have  neither 
given  us  that  consolation  which  we  desired,  nor  are  you  able 
to  give  it,  or  to  show  it.  You  have  not  only  failed  to  reveal 
God  to  us,  but  have  even  said,  there  is  no  God !  We  can 
never  receive  this.  There  is  a  Great  Creator  who  made  the 
earth  and  heavensT 

Ra'ma  very  magnanimously  fitted  Mastan'  Singh  out  with  a 
suit  of  new  clothes;  all  bid  him  farewell,  and  he  departed 
weeping. 

"The  God  who  sits  enthroned  on  high, 
The  fool  doth  in  his  heart  deny." 

Men  must  first  experience  the  pains  of  thirst  before  they  can 
appreciate  the  cool  refreshing  water;  and  as  long  as  thirst  is 
absent,  the  fountain  sends  its  refreshing  stream  past  their  feet 
unheeded.  The  one  great  result  which  Mastan'  Singh  pro- 
duced by  his  venture  in  Jhandran',  was  to  intensify  the  thirst  of 
those  Megs  after  a  Being  who  they  knew  existed,  who  alone 
could  satisfy  their  cravings,  and  whom  they  had  not  yet  found. 
They  were  brought  by  it  into  "  man's  extremity,"  and  so  pre- 
pared for  "  God's  opportunity."  When  they  turned  away  from 
that  weak  impostor,  their  hearts,  tortured  with  disappointment, 
pathetically  cried: 

"  As  pants  the  hart  for  cooling  flood, 
So  pants  my  soul,  O  living  God, 

To  taste  Thy  giace. 
When  unto  Thee  shall  I  draw  near  ? 
O,  when  within  Thy  courts  appear 
And  see  thy  face?" 

Four   months   after  Mastan'  Singh's  departure  from  Jhan- 


RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING    AMONG   THE    MEGS.  1 97 

dran,  a  middle-aged  native  Christian  from  the  city  of  Pesha'- 
war  called  on  us  at  Sial'kot  and  applied  for  employment.  In 
those  days  many  nominal  native  Christians  were  wandering 
about  the  country.  This  person  being  only  able  to  read  tol- 
erably well,  and  too  old  to  be  placed  in  school  for  further 
training,  did  not  seem  in  every  respect  promising.  But  he  had 
heathen  relatives  in  the  southern  part  of  our  district,  to  whom 
he  said  he  wished  to  make  known  the  Gospel ;  and  he  seemed 
humble,  simple,  disinterested  and  earnest.  His  brief  certificate 
also,  which  he  brought  from  a  neighbor  missionary,  was  good. 
It  said  "Joa'hir  Masih'  is  a  true  lamb,  and  has  few  wants." 
Our  native  brethren  in  Sial'kot  had,  previous  to  this  time,  or- 
ganized what  was  called  our  "  India  Home  Missionary  So- 
ciety." This  Society  employed  Joa'hir  Mas'ih'  on  the  small 
monthly  pay  of  about  three  dollars,  an  income  with  which  he 
was  perfectly  well  satisfied.  In  February,  1859,  immediately 
after  he  was  employed,  he  took  his  New  Testament  and  went 
out,  contented  and  happy,  among  the  poor  villagers  of  the 
Sial'kot  district,  to  read  the  word  of  God  to  them  wherever 
they  would  listen. 

At  that  time,  nothing  whatever  was  known  to  Joa'hir  Masih', 
or  to  any  one  in  our  Mission,  concerning  the  Megs  of  Jhandran' 
or  of  Mastan'  Singh's  unsuccessful  attempt  to  establish  himself 
among  them  as  their  gii'ru.  That  village  was  of  no  more  in- 
terest to  us  than  any  other  one  of  the  two  thousand  villages  in 
the  Sial'kot  civil  district;  but  thither  were  Jo'ahir  Masih's'  foot- 
steps guided  by  an  invisible  hand.  Just  outside  of  Jhandran' 
was  a  sugar-mill,  at  which  many  of  the  Megs  of  that  village  were 
busily  engaged;  some  preparing  bundles  of  sugar-cane  for  the 
mill,  some  passing  the  cane  between  the  rudely  constructed 
noisy  rollers,  and  others  boiling  down  the  juice  and  shaping 
the  crude  sugar  into  balls  for  market.  Joa'hir  Mas'ih',  observ- 
ing so  many  people  together,  approached  the  busy  crowd,  and 
taking  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament  from  his  pocket,  began 
in  a  timid  and  modest  manner  to  read  to  them.  All  eyes  were 
fastened  upon  him.     At  first  mere  curiosity  was  excited,  and 


198  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

they  wondered  whether  he  was  going  to  proclaim  some  Gov- 
ernment order.  But  their  curiosity  soon  gave  place  to  some- 
thing of  a  very  different  nature. 

The  chapter  read  commenced  with  these  words  :  "  The  be- 
ginning of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Son  of  God,"  after 
which  followed  the  account  of  God's  messenger  crying  in  the 
wilderness,  and  calling  on  men  to  repent ;  of  the  testimony  of 
John,  concerning  a  greater  one  than  himself;  of  the  baptism 
of  Jesus  of  Nazareth  in  the  waters  of  Jordan;  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  descending  upon  him  like  a  dove,  and  of  that  voice 
from  heaven,  which  said:  "Thou  art  my  beloved  Son,  in 
whom  I  am  well  pleased." 

These  sublime  statements  concerning  the  Soti  of  God,  the 
little  book  in  which  they  were  written,  and  the  modest  messen- 
ger by  whom  they  were  read,  produced  on  the  simple  minds 
of  those  Megs  a  profound  impression;  and  this  impression 
deepened  more  and  more  as  they  continued  to  listen  to  the 
story  of  all  kinds  of  diseases  healed,  lepers  cleansed,  and  even 
devils  expelled,  by  the  word  of  that  wonderful  person  called 
the  Son  of  God. 

Those  people,  who  had  never  heard  these  things,  unlike 
many  others,  were  ready  not  only  to  hear  but  also  to  heed, 
being,  like  the  good  ground  of  the  parable,  already  prepared 
to  receive  the  good  seed. 

When  Joa'hir  Masih,'  having  finished  the  reading  of  that  first 
chapter  of  Mark's  gospel,  began  in  a  meek  and  winning  man- 
ner to  say,  "  My  brethren,  you  should  repent,  and  you  should 
believe  on  the  Son  of  God,  for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at 
hand,"  the  noisy  sugar-mill  was  hushed,  and  the  bundles  of 
cane  fell  from  the  hands  of  the  enchanted  listeners.  Never 
before  had  they  heard  such  precious  words,  and  never  before 
had  a  voice  so  sweet  and  loving  as  Joa'hir  Masih's  greeted 
their  ears.  One  said  to  another,  "What  wonderful  words! 
Never  have  we  heard  the  like  of  these.  Where  can  he  have 
found  them  ?  Perhaps  this  is  the  very  thing  after  which  we 
are  all  seeking." 


RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING    AMONG    THE    MEGS.  1 99 

Hitherto  the  humble  preacher  of  glad  tidings  had  continued 
standing ;  but  Ra'ma,  the  worthy  Lambardiir,  now  caused  him 
to  be  seated  and  gave  him  bread  to  eat  and  sugar-cane  juice 
to  drink ;  and  the  good  Christian,  after  reverently  uncovering 
his  head  and  asking  a  blessing  upon  his  food,  ate  and  drank 
what  was  set  before  him. 

"  He  seems  to  be  a  man  of  God,"  they  said  one  to  another ; 
"  maybe  he  will  consent  to  stay  with  us." 

P'i'po  and  Faki'ra  then  invited  him  to  the  dharms'd' la  (native 
travelers'  rest-house)  situated  a  little  out  of  the  village,  where 
all  could  sit  comfortably  and  listen  undisturbed.  The  interest 
deepened  and  extended,  until  it  pervaded  almost  the  entire 
Meg  community  of  Jhandran'  to  such  a  degree  that  for  three 
days  and  nights  they  scarcely  took  time  themselves  or  gave 
Joa'hir  Mas'ih'  time  to  eat  or  sleep.  So  intent,  indeed,  were 
they  upon  hearing  the  precious  "  old,  old  story"  of  Jesus  the 
Son  of  God  the  Saviour  of  sinners,  that  they  seemed  no  longer 
to  care  for  anvthing  else. 

Joa'hir  Mas'ih',  feeling  sensible  that  he  was  not  himself  suf- 
ficiently instructed  to  be  able  to  teach  those  people  thoroughly, 
conducted  Fak'i'ra  and  other  leading  Megs  to  Sial'kot,  where 
they  were  diligently  instructed  for  several  days  by  the  mis- 
sionaries. Fak'i'ra  was  delighted  with  what  he  learned  about 
the  Christian  doctrine,  people,  and  manner  of  worship.  After 
being  taught  for  a  time,  he  was  well  supplied  with  copies  of 
the  Four  Gospels,  the  Book  of  Acts,  the  Pilgrim's  Progress, 
and  certain  tracts,  all  of  which  he  carried  home  to  his  village 
when  he  and  his  party  returned. 

Eight  days  later  Brother  Scott,  taking  with  him  other 
helpers  as  well  as  Joa'hir  Masih',  went  down  to  Jhandran'. 
Here  Fak'i'ra,  followed  by  all  the  Megs  of  the  village,  came 
running  to  meet  him,  bowing  down  and  giving  honor  to  him 
as  they  do  to  their  own  religious  teachers.  While  Mr. 
Scott  was  there,  one  of  Pi'po's  cousins  was  married;  and  the 
wedding  brought  together  at  Jhandran'  about  three  hundred 
guests  of  the  Meg  caste,  who,  according  to  their  marriage  cus- 


2CO  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

toms,  continued  their  feasting  for  three  days.  The  interest 
was  deep  and  general,  and  Scott  and  his  companions  were 
stimulated  by  the  intense  interest  of  the  occasion  to  put  forth 
their  very  best  efforts.  Preaching  and  teaching  were  kept  up 
almost  continuously  every  day,  from  morning  to  evening,  and 
generally  far  into  the  night. 

So  intense,  indeed,  was  the  desire  of  those  people  to  learn, 
that  their  wedding-feast  was  in  a  manner  neglected;  instead  of 
sitting  down  to  enjoy  it,  many  carried  away  their  dainties,  and, 
gathering  around  the  speakers,  listened  as  they  ate. 

The  first  man  who  stood  up  and  openly  declared  himself  a 
believer  was  Pi'po.  Then  nearly  all  the  members  of  the  twenty- 
five  families  of  Jhandran'  Megs — about  eighty  persons  in  all — 
followed  his  example ;  and  finally  a  number  of  the  wedding 
guests  also,  who  were  present  from  other  villages,  believed. 
Thus,  our  mission  band,  before  the  fourth  year  of  our  history 
had  run  its  course,  was  made  jubilant  by  the  joyful  spectacle 
of  almost  a  whole  community,  with  its  ramifications  extending 
in  every  direction  through  a  large  district,  -knocking  at  the 
"strait  gate,"  ready  and  anxious  to  "  enter  in." 

Such  a  spectacle  as  this  could  not  fail  to  enrage  the  Old 
Dragon;  and  we  must  turn  our  attention  now  for  a  moment  to 
the  forces  which  that  wily  old  Adversary  was  mustering  in  op- 
position to  this  religious  movement,  with  the  determination  to 
"nip  it  in  the  very  bud."  Diya'la  was  one  of  those  stern, 
hard-hearted,  determined  men,  with  much  force  of  character, 
who  naturally  exert  a  powerful  influence  over  others.  Equally 
with  Ra'ma,  he  was  a  Lanibardar  in  the  Meg  community  of 
Jhandran',  and  as  such  exercised  authority  over  them ;  and, 
withal,  he  ranked  among  them  as  a  man  of  property.  But 
Diya'la  was  a  bigoted  idolater  and  a  leader  in  idol-worship 
.  amongst  the  Megs  of  his  own  village  and  several  others  in  the 
neighborhood.  This  kind  of  preeminence  he  loved,  and  was 
therefore  heartily  opposed  to  the  new  faith,  which  would  neces- 
sarily diminish  his  following  and  influence  just  in  proportion 
.as  it  should  meet  with  success. 


RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING    AMONG    THE    MEGS.  20I 

Again,  the  men  who  owned  the  land*  around  Jhandran', 
and  were  consequently  the  chief  men  of  influence  and  power, 
were  Muhammadans  and  opposers  of  the  Gospel;  and  their 
opposition  was  all  the  more  determined  in  this  case,  because 
these  Megs  were  their  subordinates  in  the  village,  and  would 
cease  to  work  for  them  on  the  Sabbath  in  the  event  of  their 
becoming  Christians.  It  must  also  be  noted  here  as  a  very 
important  matter  that  a  Meg,  or  any  other  heathen,  long  be- 
fore he  may  have  been  converted  to  Christianity,  or  even  heard 
it  preached,  has  already  negotiated  the  marriage  of  his  chil- 
dren. Again,  marriages  among  the  heathen  involve  certain 
ceremonies  which  are  idolatrous,  and  must  not  be  participated 
in  by  Christians,  And,  finally,  their  intended  marriages  are 
in  various  ways,  and  very  seriously,  affected  by  either  party  to 
a  marriage  contract  changing  his  religion.  Such  then  were 
some  of  the  difficulties  which  beset  this  most  interesting  move- 
ment, when  Mr.  Scott,  after  his  joyful  week's  work,  turned  his 
face  towards  Labor,  whither  a  previous  engagement  required 
him  to  journey. 

Among  the  interested  hearers  who  had  listened  to  Mr.  Scott 
that  week  was  Bhaj'na,  a  bright,  chubby  little  lad  often  years, 
with  a  round  smiling  face  and  a  pair  of  brilliant  black  eyes. 
This  dear  little  fellow  quietly  but  eagerly  drank  in  the  words 
of  the  preacher,  and  felt  drawn  towards  him  with  a  love  so 
strong  that  he  desired  at  once  to  leave  father,  mother  and 
home  to  follow  after  him.  Ma'gana  was  the  name  of  another 
lad  of  the  same  age  but  larger,  who  dearly  loved  his  little  play- 
fellow Bhaj'na.  When  these  two  boys  saw  Mr.  Scott  taking 
leave,  they  felt  a  secret  longing  to  accompany  him ;  but  their 
acute  childish  instinct  perceived  something  in  the  atmosphere 
of  their  native  village  which  made  them  afraid  to  do  so,  in 
spite  of  the  popular  demonstration  which  had  just  been  made 
in  favor  of  the  Christian  religion  and  its  preachers.  Putting 
their  heads  together,  they  quickly  contrived  to  avoid  suspicion 
by  leaving  their  village  in  the  opposite  direction   from  that 

*They  own  it  only  in  the  sense  of  being  renters  under  the  Government. 


202  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

taken  by  Mr.  Scott  and  his  gray  pony;  then,  making  a  circuit, 
they  overtook  him  three  miles  on  his  way  towards  Lahor. 

Mr.  Scott,  who  was  never  slow  in  his  movements,  was  not  a 
little  surprised  to  find  two  young  boys  running  by  his  side, 
and  almost  breathless  in  their  efforts  to  keep  pace  with  his 
pony. 

"  O  boys !  where  are  you  going  ?"  said  he. 

Bhaj'na  looked  up  sweetly  into  Scott's  face,  and  answered 
with  childish  confidence,  "  Reverend  Sir,  wherever  you  go, 
there  we  will  go ;  you  teach  us  good  words,  and  we  want  to 
learn." 

"  Did  your  parents  say  you  might  come  ?  "  inquired  Scott 
kindly.  Upon  this  Bhaj'na  looked  sad,  and  was  silent,  which 
Mr.  Scott  interpreted  to  mean  that  they  had  come  without  per- 
mission; and  feeling  a  good  deal  of  personal  responsibility  in 
the  matter,  he  said,  "  You  are  too  young,  my  lads,  to  leave 
home  of  your  own  accord ;  you  must  return  to  your  parents." 

The  poor  boys  felt  very  bad,  for  they  had  really  set  their 
hearts  on  accompanying  him.  Mr.  Scott,  perceiving  this, 
softened  his  manner  and  entered  cheerfully  into  conversation 
with  them,  occasionally  breaking  off  very  reluctantly  to  repeat 
the  order  :  "  You  must  go  back,  boys.  I  would  like  to  have 
you  go  with  me;  but  it  will  never  do.  You  are  too  young. 
Go  back  to  your  parents." 

In  this  way  the  two  loving  and  hopeful  little  pilgrims  ran 
along  by  the  side  of  Mr.  Scott's  pony,  conversing  with  him  as 
they  went,  and  the  time  passed  now  pleasantly,  now  sadly, 
until  they  were  no  less  than  twelve  miles  from  Jhandran' ; 
when  lo  !  two  men  were  seen  pursuing  them  in  hot  haste. 
Mr.  Scott  halted  until  the  men  came  up.  One  of  them  was 
the  hard-hearted  Diya'la,  Ma'gana's  own  father ;  and  the  other 
was  like  him,  both  as  to  temper  and  to  opposition  to  the  new 
religion.  One  of  them  seized  Ma'gana  and  the  other  Bhaj'na, 
demanding  savagely,  "  Where  are  you  going  ?" 

Mr.  Scott  spoke  very  gently  and  kindly,  endeavoring,  by 
means  of  soft  answers  to  turn  away  the  wrath  of  the  two 


RELIGIOUS   AWAKENING   AMONG   THE    MEGS.  2O3 

angry  men  ;  and  their  violent  rage  was  moderated,  at  least  for 
the  time;  and  after  comforting  the  lads  by  saying  he  must  first 
go  to  Lahor  and  then  to  SiaFkot,  and  after  that  he  would  come 
to  them  again,  he  continued  his  journey  towards  Lahor. 
Hardly  had  Mr.  Scott  gotten  beyond  hearing  distance,  when 
Diya'la  seized  Ma'gana  by  the  hair  of  his  head  with  one  hand 
and  beat  him  cruelly  with  the  other,  whilst  Diya'la's  friend  did 
the  same  to  Bhaj'na.  The  poor  boys  cast  despairing  glances 
in  the  direction  whither  Scott  had  gone,  and  cried  and  sobbed 
as  if  their  very  hearts  would  break ;  but  there  was  no  help  for 
them,  and  they  were  taken  back  to  Jhandran'. 

Ma'gana,  like  Mr.  Bunyan's  "Pliable,"  was  quite  satisfied 
with  going  on  a  pilgrimage,  and  never  tried  it  again.  Bhaj'na's 
father,  Doa'na,  and  his  mother,  Sana'kh'i,  did  not  reprove  him 
for  his  premature  move,  being  strongly  in  sympathy  with  it 
themselves ;  and  P'i'po,  Bhaj'na's  elder  brother,  not  only  sym- 
pathized, but  was  positively  desirous  that  Bhaj'na  should  be 
placed  under  the  care  and  tuition  of  the  missionaries.  Unlike 
his  companion,  therefore,  he  lived  in  the  hope  of  realizing  the 
great  desire  of  his  heart  at  some  future  time. 

Mr.  Scott,  having  visited  Lahor  and  Sial'kot,  returned  to 
Jhandran',  according  to  his  promise,  and  pitched  his  tent  in 
the  outskirts  of  the  village,  where  all  the  men  were  accustomed 
to  assemble  for  the  purpose  of  enjoying  their  hiik'kd  and  dis- 
cussmg  matters  of  general  interest.  During  his  absence  the 
opposition  had  become  thoroughly  roused.  The  Muhamma- 
dans  of  the  village,  and  Diya'la  with  his  sympathizers,  were 
present  to  watch  the  movement.  The  Megs  also,  though  timid, 
were  now  all  present,  with  a  desire  in  general  to  hear  the  Gos- 
pel. Eighty  of  these  declared  their  readiness  to  receive  bap- 
tism and  embrace  the  new  religion.  But  alas !  they  added 
conditions  which  showed  that  the  enemies  of  the  movement 
had  been  busy,  and  that  the  Megs,  having  yielded  to  the  oppo- 
sition, were  not  prepared  to  surrender  to  Christ  without  re- 
serve. They  wished,  while  joining  the  Christian  ranks,  to 
stipulate :    P'irst,  that  they  be  allowed  to  limit  their  marriages 


204  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

to  families  of  their  own  caste,  and  to  have  their  marriage  cere- 
monies performed  according  to  their  old  religion,  which  would 
involve  them  in  the  observance  of  certain  idolatrous  rites ; 
second,  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  work  on  the  Sabbath  ; 
and,  third,  that  they  should  be  permitted  to  acknowledge  their 
own  religious  teachers  and  gods  equally  with  Jesus  Christ. 

Mr.  Scott  distinctly  informed  them  that  no  such  conditions 
could  be  entertained  for  a  moment.  "  No  man,"  said  he  "  can 
'  cross  a  river  on  tzuo  boats ;'  you  must  forsake  all  for  Christ, 
or  you  will  not  be  counted  worthy  of  him." 

From  that  time  a  clearly-marked  division  took  place  in  the 
Meg  community;  Pi'po  and  his  cousin  Faki'ra,  joined  by  a 
few  others,  declared  their  willingness  to  forsake  all  for  Christ; 
whilst  a  majority  of  them,  in  order  to  please  their  Muham- 
madan  masters  and  avoid  persecution,  turned  back  to  their 
heathen  religion. 

The  Muhammadans  of  the  village  then  began  to  persecute 
Pi'po  and  his  party,  forbidding  them  to  draw  water  from  the 
village  wells,  or  participate  in  any  of  the  common  privileges  of 
their  village.  These  intolerant  Moslem  landlords,  regarding 
Faki'ra  and  Pi'po  as  leaders  in  the  Christian  movement,  vio- 
lently assaulted  them,  beating  Pi'po  with  such  cruelty  that  he 
lay  ill  in  consequence  of  it  for  six  months,  and  for  a  time  was 
considered  beyond  all  hope  of  recovery.  Not  willing  even 
then  to  desist,  they  determined  to  drive  the  little  faithful  band 
from  their  village  homes. 

Nor  were  the  Muhammadans  the  only  ones  who  took  part 
in  these  persecutions.  Those  Megs  who  finding  Christianity 
unpopular  had  turned  back,  became  almost  as  violent  in  their 
opposition  as  the  Muhammadans  themselves.  The  Meg 
authorities  of  the  village  met  in  council,  and  formally  and  offi- 
cially issued  their  orders  as  follows :  First,  Pi'po  and  his  party 
must  prepare  a  feast  at  their  own  expense,  and  give  a  general 
invitation  to  the  Afegs  in  Jhandran'  and  all  the  neighboring 
villages  to  come  and  partake  of  it ;  second,  they  must  return 
all  the  Christian  books  which  they  had  received  from  the  mis- 


RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING    AMONG   THE    MEGS.  20$ 

sionaries ;  and,  finally,  they  must  cease  to  have  any  communi- 
cation whatever  with  the  missionaries. 

Failing  or  refusing  to  obey  these  orders,  they  were  strictly 
prohibited  fi-om  eating,  drinking  or  smoking  with  their  former 
associates,  and  from  drawing  water  from  the  wells ;  and  all 
Megs  were  forbidden  to  give  them  water,  sell  them  food,  or 
have  any  dealing  with  them. 

After  holding  out  for  one  whole  year,  Fak'i'ra  and  the  rest 
of  Pi'po's  associates  yielded  to  these  conditions,  paying  a  fine, 
returning  their  books,  and  ceasing  to  visit  the  missionaries. 
Pi'po,  who  now  stood  alone,  had  diligently  kept  up  the  read- 
ing of  his  New  Testament,  and  had  come  to  love  Jesus  with  a 
love  so  strong  that  he  could  not  yield.  He  could  endure  cruel 
beating,  such  as  they  had  inflicted  upon  him.  He  could  bear 
to  be  turned  out  of  his  village  home,  and  could  submit  to  the 
necessity  of  drinking  pond  water,  and  subsisting  like  a  dog  or 
a  jackal  on  whatever  he  could  find  to  eat;  but  he  could  not  be 
separated  from  his  Saviour,  nor  be  induced  to  deny  him. 

Messrs.  Stevenson,  Swift,  and  myself,  went  out  and  pitched 
our  tent  a  mile  distant  from  Jhandran',  and  within  sight  of  it, 
on  the  25th  of  April,  i860.  At  that  time  Fiki'ra  was  exhibit- 
ing an  ambitious  desire  for  preeminence  as  a  religious  leader, 
and  indulging  the  hope  of  again  becoming,  as  he  had  formerly 
been,  the  acknowledged  gii'ru  of  the  Jhandran'  Megs.  On  this 
occasion  he  did  not  come  near  us.  But  Pi'po  and  his  little 
pilgrim  brother  Bhaj'na,  seeing  our  tent  in  the  distance,  made 
us  a  visit  secretly  at  night.  This  poor,  lone,  persecuted  be- 
hever,  P'i'po,  seemed  greatly  depressed  by  the  bitter  opposition 
of  the  Muhammadans,  and  especially  by  the  fact  that  the  rest 
of  the  Megs  had  yielded  to  it  and  left  him  alone.  He  asked 
us  whether  it  was  not  possible  for  him  to  be  a  Christian  in  his 
heart  only,  without  showing  it  outwardly.  In  reply  to  this, 
we  taught  him  the  absolute  necesssity  of  confessing  Christ  be- 
fore the  world,  without  doing  which  we  could  not  expect  Him 
to  acknowledge  us  in  the  great  day.  P'i'po  then  sat  silent  for 
a  long  time,  as  though  seriously  meditating  upon  this  moment- 


206  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

ous  subject.  After  the  night  had  been  far  spent  in  endeavors 
to  strengthen  and  encourage  him  by  instruction,  counsel  and 
prayers,  he  returned  in  the  early  morning  to  his  loom  and  his 
New  Testament.  Without  formally  professing  the  Christian 
religion  by  receiving  baptism,  he  kept  the  Holy  Book  lying 
open  before  him  on  his  loom,  and  continued  for  years  to  weave 
and  read  and  meditate,  telling  the  good  news  to  all  comers 
as  he  had  opportunity. 

Previous  to  May,  i860,  more  than  a  dozen  visits  had  been 
made  to  Jhandran'  by  members  of  the  mission;  but  our  pres- 
ence always  provoked  the  enemies  of  Christianity  to  new  acts 
of  persecution ;  these  visits  were  therefore  necessarily  discon- 
tinued. We  remembered  poor  persecuted  P'i'po  and  his  party 
in  our  prayers,  under  the  firm  conviction  that  the  whole  move- 
ment was  the  work  of  God's  Spirit — a  conviction  which  was 
distinctly  recorded  in  the  Mission  report  of  that  year.  But 
beyond  praying  for  them,  there  seemed  nothing  more  that  we 
could  do  than  to  leave  them  for  a  time  to  themselves,  and  to 
the  sure  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Here,  too,  in  our  nar- 
rative we  leave  them  for  the  present. 


CHAPTER    XVI. 

FOURTEEN    NOTEWORTHY    EVENTS. 

UNION  OF  THE  MOTHER  CHURCHES — NATIVE  MINISTERS  ORDAINED — 
OUR  MISSION  FORCE  REDUCED  TO  TWO — ILLNESS  OF  A  NATIVE  MINIS- 
TER— FAMINE,  A)iD  WORK  GREATLY  EMBARRASSED — WELCOME  ARRI- 
VAL OF  THE  REV.  J.  S.  BARR  AND  WIFE — BIOGRAPHICAL  SKETCH — SALE 
OF  MISSION  PROPERTY — GUJRANWA^LA  OCCUPIED — SCARCITY  OF  MIS- 
SION FUNDS — MISS  Gordon's  illness — orphanage  divided  into  two 

DEPARTMENTS — WORK  SUFFERS  FROM  FAILING  OF  HEALTH  OF  MISSION- 
ARIES— ONLY  ONE  FOREIGN  MISSIONARY  LEFT — STATISTICS  OF  DECEM- 
BER 31,   1864. 

I  WILL  now  mention  very  briefly  a  number  of  events  which 
affected  the  interests  of  the  Mission,  and  then  sum  up  the 
results  of  the  first  ten  years  as  far  as  can  be  shown  by  statis- 
tics. 

1.  The  Union  which  formed  the  United  Presbyterian  Church 
of  North  America  having  taken  place  in  May,  1858,  and  hav- 
ing been  unanimously  agreed  to  by  the  members  of  our  Mis- 
sion, the  Mission  itself  was  formally  made  over  to  that  body 
by  the  Associate  Synod  in  May,  1859. 

2.  Our  two  native  brethren,  George  Washington  Scott  and 
Elisha  P.  Swift,  were  ordained  by  the  Sial'kot  Presbytery  on 
the  7th  of  January,  1859. 

3.  On  the  7th  of  July  of  the  same  year,  the  Boys'  School 
in  Sial'kot  was  removed  from  its  old  quarters  in  the  heart  of 
the  city  to  our  new  church  building,  in  the  western  suburbs. 

4.  The  Rev.  R.  A.  Hill's  labors,  in  connection  with  our 
Mission,  ceased  in  April,  i860,  reducing  the  number  of  our 
ordained  foreign  missionaries  from  three  to  two. 

5.  The  Rev.  G.  W.  Scott's  health  suffered  seriously  in  the 
beginning  of  1861,  in  consequence  of  which  he  was  placed 

(207) 


208  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

under  medical  treatment,  and  for  a  period  of  five  months  was 
unable  to  engage  actively  in  the  work. 

6.  The  Panjab'  was  visited  by  a  famine  in  1861  ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  no  funds  arrived  from  America  for  the  expenses  of 
that  year  until  near  the  end  of  May.  The  work  was  embar- 
rassed. Itinerant  preaching — the  most  important  part  of  our 
work — was  necessarily  discontinued  during  the  cold  season, 
"  and  our  organized  work  narrowly  escaped  breaking  up." 

7.  On  the  6th  of  April,  1862,  our  reduced  Mission  band 
was  greatly  cheered  and  strengthened  by  the  welcome  arrival, 
in  our  midst,  of  the  Rev.  James  S.  Barr  and  wife,  of  whose 
personal  history  the  following  is  a  very  brief  sketch : 

"  The  Rev.  James  S.  Barr,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Washington 
county,  Pa.,  December  22d,  1832.  His  father  was  long  a  rul- 
ing elder  in  Pigeon  Creek  congregation,  Presbytery  of  Char- 
tiers,  within  the  bounds  of  which  Dr.  Barr  grew  up,  and  into 
the  full  membership  of  which  he  was  received  under  the  min- 
istry of  the  Rev.  Bankhead  Boyd.  He  was  graduated  in 
1858  at  Jefferson  College,  Canonsburg,  Pa.,  after  which  he 
studied  Theology  in  our  Allegheny  Theological  Seminary. 
He  was  licensed  by  the  United  Presbyterian  Presbytery  of 
Chartiers,  on  the  19th  of  June,  i860.  The  General  Assembly, 
at  its  meeting  in  1861,  appointed  him  to  our  India  Mission. 
Having  accepted  this  appointment,  he  was,  on  the  25th  of  June 
of  the  same  year,  ordained  with  special  reference  to  the  mis- 
sion work,  by  the  Presbytery  which  had  licensed  him.  Two 
days  after  his^ordination  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mary  E.  Black, 
of  Canonsburg,  Pa.,  who  has  been  his  faithful  helpmate  and 
co-laborer  through  all  these  intervening  years.  They  sailed  for 
India  on  the  23d  of  September,  1861,  and  arrived  at  Sial'kot 
on  the  6th  of  April,  1862. 

8.  Closely  following  Mr.  Barr's  arrival,  the  North  Mission 
Premises  were  sold  to  the  Mission  of  the  Church  of  Scotland 
for  ;^  1,500,  and  the  money  appropriated  to  the  erection  of 
buildings  in  a  new  station. 

9.  Advancing  slowly,  as  advised  by  the  Board  of  Foreign 


REV.  JAMES    S.  BARR,  I).  D. 


MRS.  MARY  BARR. 


FOURTEEN    NOTEWORTHY    EVENTS.  2O9 

Missions,  we  finally  occupied  a  second  station,  after  having 
this  movement  seven  years  under  consideration;  Gujranwa'la 
city  and  district,  with  a  population  of  600,000,  were  formally 
taken  up,  Brothers  Barr  and  Scott  being  appointed  on  the  23d 
of  January,  1863,  to  occupy  them  permanently. 

10.  The  beginning  of  1863  found  our  Mission  again  finan- 
cially embarrassed.  For  the  want  of  funds,  serious  thoughts 
were  entertained  of  discontinuing  the  school  for  non-Christian 
boys  in  the  city  and  the  school  for  Christians  on  the  South 
Mission  Premises. 

11.  Miss  Gordon's  labors  in  the  Orphanage  began  seriously 
to  affect  her  health.  Helpers  were  difficult  to  find,  and  even 
if  found,  could  not  have  been  employed,  it  was  thought,  be- 
cause of  the  expense.  The  continued  strain  of  her  unaided 
labors  for  these  poor,  ill-conditioned  children — her  watching 
over  the  sick  by  night  and  her  teaching  regularly  by  day,  in 
an  unsuitable,  close  room,  through  the  hot  season — all  taken 
together,  proved  too  much;  and,  in  January,  1863,  the  Mission, 
by  order  of  her  physician,  released  her  for  a  season  from  the 
care  of  the  Orphanage  and  from  teaching. 

12.  The  boys'  department  of  the  Orphanage  was,  the  same 
month,  removed  to  Gujranwa'la — the  girls  only  remaining  in 
Sial'kot — and  placed  under  the  care  and  management  of  the 
Rev.  J.  S.  Barr;  and  the  persons  in  charge  of  the  two  depart- 
ments of  the  Orphanage  were  each  authorized  by  the  Mission 
to  hire  an  assistant  at  a  cost  not  exceeding  five  dollars  a  month, 

13.  Before  the  end  of  1863,  the  Rev.  E.  H.  Stevenson's 
health  began  to  give  way  under  the  influence  of  the  climate 
and  work;  and  on  the  29th  of  February,  1864,  the  writer  also 
succumbed.  Our  work  was  seriously  hindered  by  these  afflic- 
tions. It  was  not  possible  to  pay  the  salary  necessary  to  secure 
a  competent  head  teacher  for  the  boys'  school  in  the  city  of 
Sial'kot,  and  we  were  obliged  reluctantly  to  close  it.  The 
School  on  the  South  Mission  Premises  for  Christian  children, 
orphan  girls  and  inquirers,  though  believed  to  be  of  prime 
importance,  was  necessarily  suspended  for  a  time,  and  after- 

14 


210  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

wards  taught,  only  irregularly,  by  brother  Swift,  Mrs.  Scott 
and  Mrs.  Barr  in  turn,  as  they  found  it  possible  to  devote  to  it 
a  portion  of  their  time. 

14.  Messrs.  Gordon  and  Stevenson,  with  their  families,  and 
Miss  Gordon,  having  tried  the  best  available  remedies  without 
such  a  return  of  health  as  would  justify  their  continuing  in 
India,  left  for  America  on- the  28th  of  November,  1864.  Thus, 
although  earnest  appeals  had  been  made  for  reinforcements, 
Mr.  Barr,  with  only  two  years  and  eight  months  of  experience 
in  the  work  and  acquaintance  with  the  language  and  people, 
was  left  our  sole  foreign  missionary  in  India  as  the  tenth  year 
of  the  Mission's  existence  was  drawing  to  a  close;  and  funds 
were  so  scarce  that  the  Mission  was  twice  reduced  almost  to 
extremity  that  year;  whilst  the  home-bound  party  were  com- 
pelled to  borrow  money  in  London  before  they  could  reach 
America. 

STATISTICS    OF  THE    MISSION   AT   THE    END    OF    1864. 

Ordained  Foreign  Missionaries,  number  reduced  near  the  end  of  the  year  from 

three  to I 

Lay  Missionaries O 

Unmarried  Lady  Missionaries — the  only  one  left  India  in  November,  1864   .  o 

Ordained  Native  Ministers 2 

Licentiates o 

Principal  Mission  Stations 2 

Organized  Churches 2 

Unorganized  Stations o 

Communicants 34 

Increase  by  profession  in  1864 12 

Increase  by  certificate I 

Net  increase  in  1863  and  1864 12 

Adult  baptisms  in  1864 12 

Infant         "               "      4 

Number  of  pupils  in  Girls' Orphanage 17 

"             "        Boys'  Orphanage 24 

Number  of  day  schools  3 — reduced  at  close  of  year  to I 

Number  of  scholars  in  day  schools,  209 — reduced  at  end  of  the  year  to  .    .    .  30 

Industrial  School I 

Contributions  in  India • $20 

Church  building I 

Mission  dwellings 2 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

RELIGIOUS   AWAKENING    AMONG    THE    MEGS   CONTINUED. 

A  DARK  OUTLOOK — THE  WORK  ITSELF  ENCOURAGING — STATE  OF  RELIG- 
ION IN  OUR  NATIVE  CHURCH — THE  GOOD  SEED  TAKING  ROOT  AMONG 
THE  MEGS — A  SURPRISE — THIS  IS  THE  BOOK  I  WANT — THERE  ARE  TEN 
OF  US — PI^PO'S  DEATH — WE  CAN  MEET  UP  THERE,  BROTHER,  IF  YOU 
BELIEVE  ON  JESUS — MEETING  IN  A  GARDEN  SECRETLY  FOR  PRAYER — 
TEACHING  SCHOOL  BY  MOONLIGHT — SCOTT  AGAIN  VISITS  JHANDRAN' — 
MEGS  LEAVE  JHANDRAN  AND  FORM  A  NEW  VILLAGE — SCOTT  VISITS 
THE  NEW  VILLAGE — NIGHT-SCHOOL  IN  A  DOOLY — "WHEN?" — RE- 
SOLVES TO  CONFESS  CHRIST — OUT  ON  HIS  SECOND  PILGRIMAGE — "ON 
CHRIST'S  side" — BRING  YOUR  WIFE — SCENE  IN  THE  GARDEN — JOINED 
BY  A  SUITABLE  COMPANION — A  GRAND  SPEECH — TO  BE  MARRIED  AND 
CANNOT  GO — can't  HAVE  HIS  BRIDE — A  WEDDING — CAN  WE  FORSAKE 
ALL  FOR  CHRIST? — EXCUSE  US — BREAKING  CASTE — PRESSING  ONWARD 
— FORGETTING  TO  EAT — A  BRAHMIN  CONVERTED — ABDULLAH — "  IN 
THEE  MY  SOUL  HATH  SHELTER  FOUND." 

OUR  Mission  entered  upon  the  year  1865  with  a  prospect, 
in  some  respects,  very  dark.  The  Rev.  J.  S.  Barr,  a  new 
missionary  with  Hmited  experience,  was  left  by  the  Church  as 
their  sole  representative  in  India.  On  him  fell  the  burdens  and 
responsibilities  which  three  or  four  missionaries  had  assumed 
in  the  faith  that  additional  aid  would  soon  be  sent  them.  Two 
important  branches  of  the  work  were  necessarily  suspended, 
and  the  remainder  seriously  crippled  Mr.  Scott  was  in  deli- 
cate health,  and  Mr.  Barr  was  temporarily  disabled  by  an  at- 
tack of  acute  dysentery;  their  hearts  sank  within  them  when 
they  learned  that  the  two  ministers  appointed  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  May,  1864,  were  not  coming  to  their  aid.  Study- 
ing the  best  interests  of  the  Mission,  Mr.  Barr  felt  constrained 
to  re- open  the  Boys'  School  in  the  City  of  SiaFkot  in  Febru- 
ary, 1865.  The  heavy  labor  of  conducting  this  school  would 
have  been  greatly  lightened  by  employing  a  competent  native 

(211) 


212  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

head  teacher,  which  Mr.  Barr  would  have  gladly  done,  but 
was  obliged  to  re-open  it  without  one,  since  it  was  not  thought 
possible  to  pay  the  necessary  salary.  The  third  year  since  the 
Gujranwa'la  Station  had  been  occupied  was  running  its  course, 
but  the  state  of  the  funds  had  not  yet  justified  the  erection  of 
any  buildings.  The  orphan  boys,  therefore,  had  no  home; 
there  was  no  church  or  school-building  either  in  the  City  of 
Gujranwa'la  or  on  the  Mission  premises;  Mr.  Barr  had  no 
house  of  his  own,  and  could  not  find  one  to  rent.  Conse- 
quently, in  addition  to  his  other  burdens,  he  was  compelled, 
when  the  hot  season  came  on,  to  move  the  Boys'  Orphanage 
up  to  Sial'kot,  thirty  miles  distant,  where  there  was  a  house; 
for  had  he  left  them  in  Gujranwa'la,  the  care  of  them  would 
have  prevented  Mr.  Swift  from  engaging  in  the  important 
work  of  itinerant  preaching.  In  addition  to  these  discourage- 
ments, signs  of  coldness  toward  our  India  Mission,  and  a  will- 
ingness to  discontinue  it  altogether,  were  beginning  to  appear 
in  some  quarters  at  home.  As  I  revert  to  those  sad  days,  and 
attempt  to  follow  our  Mission  through  its  many  adversities,  I 
feel  like  one  passing  "through  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of 
death,"  without  the  rod  and  staff  to  comfort  him,  so  very  dark 
and  discouraging  was  the  outlook. 

But  now,  turning  away  from  the  gloomy  externals,  let  us  look 
at  the  internal  condition  of  the  work.  Cut  off  from  outside 
cheer,  we  were  taught  to  remember  the  command,  "Go,"  rely- 
ing upon  the  pledge,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you,"  and  were  led  as 
never  before  to  work  with  the  single  aim  of  pleasing  him  who 
gave  the  command  and  the  pledge.  I  may  here  state  that,  as 
a  general  rule,  the  progress  of  the  Gospel  has  always  appeared 
encouraging  to  our  missionaries,  who  were  themselves  on  the 
field.  We  were  not,  it  is  true,  always  able,  from  the  very  com- 
mencement, to  send  home  cheering  statistical  figures  and  glow- 
ing accounts  of  abundant  ingatherings.  How  could  this  be 
reasonably  expected?  Harvest  is  not  the  very  first  thing  in 
any  field — especially  not  in  a  moral  wilderness  like  heathen 
India,   where  a  Babel  of  languages   makes    several  years  of 


RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING    AMONG    THE    MEGS.  213 

tedious  application  necessary  in  order  to  speak  intelligibly  to 
its  strange  people,  and  where  numberless  heathen  institutions 
have  grown  hoary  with  age.  Still  less  should  great  visible 
results  be  immediately  looked  for  in  the  face  of  a  formidable 
array  of  such  outside  discouragements  as  those  just  stated. 
Indeed,  when  we  consider  the  language  with  its  many  difficult 
dialects,  the  moral  degradation  of  the  people,  the  bigotry  of 
Muhammadans,  the  deep-rooted  superstitions  of  the  many 
idolatrous  tribes,  the  pride  and  prejudice  of  caste,  and  the  pro- 
verbial antipathy  of  the  people  of  India  to  everything  foreign; 
and  then  consider  the  smallness  of  the  working  force  placed 
in  our  field,  the  climate  in  which  we  work,  the  limited  means 
placed  at  our  disposal,  and  the  many  difficult  problems  that 
arise — the  wonder  is  that  there  was  any  progress  at  all.  But 
God  showed  us  blessed  results,  which  exceeded  our  expecta- 
tions. Although  the  statistics  given  at  the  close  of  1864  show 
a  membership  of  only  34  communicants — a  membership  by  no 
means  small  when  compared  with  that  of  many  missions  to 
heathen  lands  at  the  end  of  their  first  ten  years — yet  above 
and  beyond  this,  and  all  else  that  can  be  represented  by  statis- 
tical figures  alone,  were  visible  results  of  our  work  which 
cheered  our  hearts  and  beckoned  us  onward. 

The  annual  report  for  1864,  speaking  of  the  state  of  the 
work  at  the  close  of  that  year,  says,  "  In  both  stations  there 
are  many  inquirers.  In  Sial'kot  a  very  encouraging  spirit  is 
manifested  by  the  native  Christians — a  spirit  of  love  and 
prayer,  and  studying  to  master  former  evil  habits;  all  of  which 
fill  us  with  gratitude  and  the  highest  hopes.  Gujranwa'la  also 
seems  ripe  for  the  harvest,  needing  only  the  reaper's  hand." 

A  year  later  Mr.  Barr  again  reports,  "Many  of  the  members 
are  growing  in  grace.  To  four  of  these  we  applied  the  rod  of 
discipline  before  a  weeping  congregation.  Contributions  dur- 
ing the  year  have  been  rupees  45 — seemingly  small ;  but  who 
gives  one-eighth  of  his  income  [to  the  Church]  at  home? 
This  is  the  lowest  proportion  contributed  by  any  of  our  poor 
Christians." 


214  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

But  the  prospect  which  above  all  else  cheered  our  hearts  in 
the  work  lay  entirely  outside  of  our  incipient  Christian  com- 
munity. The  good  seed  which  had  been  sown  broadcast  was 
beginning  to  take  root  in  the  hearts  of  the  heathen,  God's 
word  was  already  moulding  their  inward  and  outward  lives  in  a 
manner  which  showed  a  power  and  persistency  that  astonished 
as  well  as  delighted  us.  This  was  most  remarkable  in  the  Meg 
community  in  and  around  Jhandran'  and  Zafarwal',  whither 
we  now  again  turn  our  attention. 

In  the  cool  season  of  1862  a  poor,  half-naked  man  came  one 
day  and  seated  himself  on  the  ground  in  front  of  my  house  at 
Sial'kot.  As  I  was  about  to  pass  him  by,  he  looked  at  me  so 
very  wistfully  that  I  was  constrained  to  stop  and  ask  what  he 
desired.  "A  tract  on  pantheism,"  was  his  answer,  which  greatly 
surprised  me.  I  did  not  suppose  that  an  ignorant  coolie,  such 
as  he  seemed  to  be,  could  know  anything  about  tracts,  and 
still  less  about  pantheism,  or  that  he  would  feel  any  interest  in 
such  matters.  Knowing,  however,  that  he  might  have  some 
friend  who  could  read,  I  brought  him  a  copy  of  one  of  the 
Gospels,  when,  to  my  still  greater  surprise,  he  read  a  few  lines 
of  it,  and  handed  it  back,  saying,  "  I  have  that  book  already." 
I  brought  another,  and  another,  with  similar  results,  until  at 
last  he  read  the  first  sentence  of  one,  and  said,  "This  is  the 
book  I  want."  This  book  was  a  refutation  of  those  very  doc- 
trines which  Mastan'  Singh  had  taught  in  Jhandran'. 

I  asked  the  man  how  he  had  come  to  know  about  these 
things.     He  answered  that  he  had  been  taught  by  Pi'po. 

"  But  do  you  live  in  P'i'po's  village  ?  "  I  again  asked. 

"No,"  said  he,  "my  village  is  six  miles  from  Jhandran'." 

"Are  there  any  others  in  your  village  who  are  thinking 
about  these  things  ?  "  said  I. 

"  Yes,"  he  replied ;  "  there  are  ten  of  us." 

To  my  great  delight  I  learned  that  poor,  faithful  P'i'po,  for- 
saken, persecuted,  and  depressed  in  spirit  as  we  had  last  seen 
him,  was  not  only  himself  patiently  bearing  his  cross,  and 
steadily  holding  on  his  way,  but  actually  lending  a   helping 


RELIGIOUS   AWAKENING   AMONG    THE    MEGS.  215 

hand    to    others,  and  prosecuting    the    good  work  begun  in 
Jhandran'. 

P'i'po  was  a  man  of  delicate  constitution,  and  had  suffered 
cruel  treatment  for  Christ's  sake  at  the  hands  of  his  enemies. 
In  the  hot  season  of  1866  he  was  laid  up  for  nine  days  by  an 
attack  of  fever.  On  the  ninth  day,  believing  that  he  had  not 
long  to  live,  he  called  together  not  only  his  wife  and  other  near 
relatives  not  inclined  to  Christianity,  but  also  his  circle  of  inti- 
mate friends — all  whose  sympathies  were  with  him  in  the  reli- 
gious movement — taking  special  care  that  none  of  them  should 
be  absent.  Bhaj'na,  his  young  brother;  Kana'ya,  the  son  of 
Lambardar  Ra'ma,  Ka'lu,  Chan'nu,  Chab'bu,  and  five  others, 
were  present.  These  constituted  a  small  select  band  of  earnest 
seekers,  drawn  together  by  sympathy  in  a  union  which  was 
strengthened  by  persecution ;  and  they  now  assembled  around 
the  dying  man's  bed.  P'i'po  believed  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  and 
loved  him  ;  and  though  he  had  not  formally  confessed  him 
by  receiving  baptism  in  his  name,  he  now  very  solemnly  ex- 
horted the  whole  company  to  believe  on  Jesus,  and  follow  him. 
Then,  calling  Bhaj'na  to  his  side,  he  pointed  to  his  own  wife 
and  four  children,  and  said  in  a  feeble  voice : 

"  My  brother,  these  are  no  longer  mine ;  I  leave  them  with 
you.     Where  I  am  going,  will  you  meet  me  there,  brother?" 

Bhaj'na  replied,  "I  know  not  how  it  is  in  my  power,  brother, 
to  meet  you  after  death." 

"We  can  meet  there,  through  Jesus  Christ,  if  you  believe  on 
him,"  said  Pi'po  in  a  whisper,  as  he  raised  his  finger  heaven- 
ward. 

"If  you  are  sure  of  this  thing,"  said  Bhaj'na,  "then  put  your 
hand  under  my  arm."* 

Pi'po  then,  aided  by  his  brother,  placed  his  hand  in  the  de- 
sired position,  and  lifting  Bhaj'na's  arm,  gently  said,  "  I  confi- 
dently believe  that  Jesus  Christ  will  cause  us  to  meet  again, 
and  we  shall  dwell  together  in  one  place."  These  were  Pi'po's 
last  words,  after  which  he  passed  away  almost  immediately. 

*A  mode  of  ratifying  a  solemn  promise  or  covenant  which  they  feel  bound  to 

fulfil  if  possible. 


2l6  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

Bhaj'na,  bereaved  of  his  elder  brother,  the  only  one  in  his 
village  to  whom  he  could  look  for  counsel  and  instruction, 
and  burdened  with  the  care  of  his  brother's  family,  was  now 
no  longer  the  light-hearted  lad  which  we  have  hitherto  seen 
him,  but  was  transformed  into  a  grave,  thoughtful  and  serious 
man.  The  little  band  of  earnest  seekers  felt  deeply  affected 
and  closely  drawn  together  by  this  death-bed  scene,  and  began 
with  renewed  diligence  their  search  after  what  they  had  now 
come  to  think  of  as  the  "  one  thing  needful."  But  they  were 
obliged  to  proceed  cautiously.  P'i'po's  widow  was  not  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  Christian  movement;  Bhaj'na's  father  and 
mother,  and  many  others,  were  not  very  decided;  whilst  bitter 
enemies,  close  at  hand,  were  numerous  and  powerful.  That 
little  band,  therefore,  began  to  meet  together  secretly  by  night, 
in  a  secluded  garden,  where  Bhaj'na  read  God's  word  to  the 
rest  and  led  them  in  prayer.  All  of  them  desired  earnestly  to 
be  able  to  read  the  Bible  for  themselves,  knowing  that  this 
more  than  anything  else  would  enable  them  to  give  answers  to 
their  enemies.  Bhaj'na,  therefore,  having  been  himself  taught 
by  P'i'po,  made  letters  on  the  ground  in  their  chosen  retreat, 
and  taught  them,  by  the  light  of  the  moon,  to  the  rest  of  the 
company  assembled  in  the  garden  at  night. 

Mr.  Scott,  not  having  heard  of  P'i'po's  death,  ventured  to 
make  another  visit  to  Jhandran',  hoping  that  he  might  succeed 
in  doing  this  without  arousing  the  spirit  of  persecution.  Leav- 
ing his  tent  at  the  village  of  Dham'tal,  he  went  up  to  Jhan- 
dran', where  Bhaj'na  was  found  weaving  near  his  own  house 
under  a  large  tree.  First  of  all  Mr.  Scott  inquired  eagerly  for 
Pi'po.  The  timid  young  man  replied  only  that  his  brother  was 
no  more,  for  he  felt  afraid  to  speak  freely  before  a  number  of 
men  who  were  there  present;  but  on  Mr.  Scott's  returning  to 
his  tent  at  Dham'tal,  he  accompanied  him  and  told  him  all 
about  Pi'po's  death  and  dying  words,  opening  without  reserve 
his  burdened  and  sorrow-stricken  heart,  and  receiving  in  turn 
Brother  Scott's  wise  counsel  and  tender  sympathies.  Before 
they  separated,  Mr.  Scott  gave  him  new  copies  of  Matthew's 


RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING   AMONG    THE    MEGS.  21/ 

Gospel  and  the  Pilgrim's  Progress,  in  the  place  of  those  which 
had  been  reluctantly  returned  to  the  missionaries  on  a  former 
occasion  by  order  of  the  Meg  council.  The  books  received 
on  the  present  occasion  remain  in  Bhaj'na's  possession  to  this 
day,  preserved  with  scrupulous  care  among  his  most  precious 
treasures. 

On  account  of  the  intense  hatred  which  the  Muhammadan 
land-holders  of  Jhandran'  had  come  to  bear  toward  the  Megs 
of  their  village,  it  was  arranged  that  eighteen  of  the  twenty-five 
Meg  families  should  move  three  miles  northward  and  build  a 
new  village  one  mile  east  of  Zafarwal'.  The  village  was  named 
Na'ya  Pind,  which  means  new  village.  Although  this  seces- 
sion from  Jhandran'  resulted  from  the  hatred  of  the  Muham- 
madans  to  the  Megs,  because  the  latter  were  concerned  in  the 
Christian  movement,  yet  those  eighteen  families  were  not  all 
in  sympathy  with  the  movement  itself.  As  in  the  formation 
of  all  new  colonies,  it  was  necessary  for  them  in  this  instance 
to  have  an  eye  to  business,  and  so  to  divide  off  that  the  colony 
should  have  a  variety  of  trades.  Consequently  some  of  the 
worst  enemies  of  the  Christian  movement  found  their  way  to 
the  new  settlement,  whilst  some  of  its  best  friends  were  left 
behind.  Bhaj'na  and  Kana'ya  did  not  migrate  to  Na'ya  Pind 
until  the  second  year  of  the  new  village;  and  Chan'nu,  an- 
other friend  of  the  Christians,  remains  at  Jhandran'  to  this  day. 

When  Mr.  Scott  learned  that  Bhaj'na  had  removed  to  Na'ya 
Pind,  he  paid  him  another  visit ;  for  ever  since  the  lad's  at- 
tempt to  follow  him  to  Labor  he  loved  him  very  dearly,  and 
could  not  rest  long  at  a  time  without  seeing  him.  It  was  the 
rainy  season,  and  finding  the  water  in  the  Deg  up  to  his  pony's 
back,  he  procured  a  dooly,  in  which  he  crossed  the  stream, 
and  finished  his  journey.  The  hatred  entertained  by  the  anti- 
Christian  party  in  Na'ya  Pind  was  so  intense,  and  the  enemies 
so  on  the  alert  that,  although  Mr.  Scott  could  preach  openly 
to  both  friends  and  foes  by  day,  yet  he  could  not  lodge  in  the 
village  at  night;  the  enemies  would  not  tolerate  such  a  thing. 
Near  the  city  of  Zafarwal',  and  about  a  mile  from  Na'ya  Pind, 


2l8  OUR    I>TDIA    MISSION. 

the  walls  of  a  new  Government  building  had  been  erected,  but 
the  roof  was  wanting.  By  taking  his  dooly  within  the  build- 
ing and  lodging  in  the  dooly  itself,  he  managed  to  secure  for 
the  night  an  imperfect  shelter  from  rain.  The  next  morning 
he  went  over  to  Na'ya  Find,  where  Kana'ya,  the  son  of  Rama, 
prepared  for  him  a  dinner,  to  which  Bhaj'na  also  was  invited. 
Mr.  Scott  eagerly  improved  this  golden  opportunity  of  speak- 
ing God's  word  to  his  hosts,  to  which  they  listened  with  great 
delight,  whilst  they  all  ate  and  drank  together  in  the  presence 
of  their  foes,  who  looked  angrily  on ;  after  which  he  returned 
to  pass  another  night  in  the  roofless  building.  Bhaj'na  had 
not  the  courage  to  follow  Mr.  Scott  openly  to  his  lodging 
place ;  but  he  knew  that  Scott's  pony,  which  by  this  time  had 
come  across  the  Deg,  must  have  something  to  eat,  and  that  if 
he  would  scrape  up  a  blanket-full  of  grass  and  carry  it  over  as 
though  for  sale,  he  would  not  necessarily  excite  suspicion.  So, 
preparing  his  load  of  grass,  and  quietly  calling  Kana'ya  to  go 
along,  he  went  over  to  Mr.  Scott  after  nine  o'clock  at  night, 
and  found  him  in  his  contracted  lodging-place,  trying  to  pro- 
tect himself  as  well  as  he  could  from  mosquitoes  and  the  rain. 
Mr.  Scott  uncorked  a  bottle  and  poured  from  it  a  spoonful  of 
oil  into  a  small  earthen  cup;  then  applying  a  match  to  the 
wick  which  hung  over  one  edge,  he  made  a  dim  light.  Open- 
ing the  Bible,  he  taught  Bhaj'na  and  Kana'ya  about  Christ 
Jesus  until  midnight,  after  which  his  visitors  returned  to  their 
home  in  Na'ya  Find. 

The  next  forenoon,  a  little  before  Mr.  Scott  was  to  leave  for 
Sial'kot,  Bhaj'na  summoned  up  sufficient  courage  to  go  alone 
to  him.  After  they  had  spent  a  pleasant  hour  together,  Mr. 
Scott  took  his  young  disciple  by  the  hand,  and  looking  him 
full  in  the  face,  said,  "When?" 

Bhaj'na,  after  a  thoughtful  pause,  placed  his  hand  under  Mr. 
Scott's  arm,  after  the  manner  of  the  Megs,  and  pressing  gently 
upwards,  answered,  "  After  sowing  my  grain  I  will  come." 

Scott  then  returned  to  Sial'kot,  and  the  little  band  of  in- 
quirers, with  Bhaj'na  as  their  leader,  continued  to  retire  into 


RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING    AMONG    THE    MEGS.  219 

the  garden  under  the  cover  of  night,  for  the  reading  of  God's 
word  and  prayer.  At  one  of  these  night  meetings,  when  there 
were  six  of  the  company  present,  they  all  formally  resolved 
that  they  would  come  out  and  openly  confess  Christ.  The 
names  of  those  who  so  resolved  are  Bhaj'na,  Kana'ya,  Chan'nu, 
Chab'bu,  Gane'sa,  and  a  second  Bhaj'na. 

When  a  month  had  passed,  Bhaj'na's  sowing  was  over.  In 
the  evening  he  finished  the  seeding  of  his  last  little  patch  of 
ground,  and  the  next  morning,  having  slept  very  little  during 
the  night,  he  set  out  for  Sial'kot  long  before  day,  according  to 
his  solemn  promise  to  Mr.  Scott.  Sial'kot  was  twenty-six 
miles  distant  and  this  was  Bhaj'na's  first  journey  thither.  No 
one  in  his  village,  not  even  his  intimate  associates,  knew 
whither  he  had  gone.  The  road  was  strange  to  him,  and  the 
directions  as  to  his  way,  received  in  answer  to  his  inquiries, 
were  calculated  to  lead  him  very  wide  of  the  mark.  It  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  therefore,  that  after  a  weary  and  anxious  day's 
walk,  during  which  he  ate  nothing,  he  arrived  in  Sial'kot  can- 
tonments three  or  four  miles  from  any  of  the  mission  houses, 
and  was  greatly  perplexed  at  his  failure  to  find  any  clue  to 
Pd'dr'i  Scott's  whereabouts.  After  a  good  deal  of  searching 
and  inquiry  he  found  first  the  city  of  Sial'kot,  then  the  village 
of  Ha'j'ipur,  and  finally,  to  his  great  comfort,  the  home  of  Mr. 
Scott  on  the  south  mission  premises.  Here,  in  answer  to  his 
inquiries,  he  learned  that  Mr.  Scott  was  encamped  six  miles 
west  of  Sial'kot,  whereupon  the  eager  seeker,  regardless  of 
bodily  hunger  and  weariness,  set  out  at  once,  asking  the  way 
as  he  went.  Very  soon  he  saw  a  tent  in  the  distance,  and  was 
glad.  Mr.  Scott,  who  had  just  finished  his  dinner,  seeing 
Bhaj'na  afar  off,  rose  up  from  his  tent  door  and  went  out  to 
meet  him,  and  embraced  him  with  a  father's  love. 

Mr.  Scott  inquired  about  his  welfare,  and  especially  about 
the  state  of  his  mind  on  the  great  matter  of  faith  in  his 
Saviour. 

"I  have  come  to  you,"  said  Bhaj'na,  "as  I  promised  to  do; 
as  you  are,  so  am  I — 07i  Christ's  side." 


220  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

"  When  did  you  last  eat  bread  ?  "'  inquired  Scott. 

"Before  leaving  Na'ya  Find,"  said  Bhaj'na,  "I  ate  a  little 
cold  bread*  in  haste,  and  I  chewed  a  bit  of  sugar-cane  by  the 
way." 

"What!  thirty-six  miles  on  foot,  with  only  that  cold,  dry 
breakfast  and  a  bit  of  sugar-cane!  You  must  be  all  but  starved 
to  death,  my  son." 

"  No,  indeed,"  replied  Bhaj'na,  "  my  heart  has  been  so  full 
of  gladness,  and  so  many  anxious  but  happy  thoughts  about 
what  I  am  doing  have  been  coming  into  my  mind,  that  I  cared 
not  for  eating ;  but  now  I  feel  as  if  I  could  eat."  Mr.  Scott 
then  made  haste  and  prepared  some  dinner. 

During  the  evening  they  both  calmly  considered  in  all  its 
bearings  the  step  which  Bhaj'na  was  now  fully  resolved  to 
take.  Bhaj'na's  father  Doa'na,  and  his  mother  Sana'kh'i,  al- 
though in  heart  on  Christ's  side,  were  still  weak,  afraid  of  the 
world,  and  unprepared  either  to  take  such  a  step  themselves- 
or  allow  their  son  to  do  so;  it  was,  therefore,  a  question  with 
Mr.  Scott  whether  it  would  be  wise  to  baptize  the  youth  with- 
out his  parents'  knowledge.  At  that  very  time  they,  doubt- 
less, were  in  great  distress  about  their  son,  not  knowing 
whither  he  had  gone.  Again,  Bhaj'na  was  married,  and  his 
bride,  according  to  custom,  was  still  living  with  her  parents 
in  the  village  of  Ba'riyan,  fourteen  miles  northeast  of  Zafarwal', 
waiting  until  she  should  arrive  at  the  proper  age  for  her  to  be 
given  over  to  her  husband.  After  his  baptism  it  might  not 
be  possible  for  him  to  get  her  away  from  her  parents ;  it 
seemed  but  right,  therefore,  that  he  should  postpone  his  bap- 
tism until  he  would  make  an  effort  to  bring  home  his  bride. 
In  view  of  these  things,  and  acting  on  Mr.  Scott's  advice, 
Bhaj'na  turned  his  face  toward  Na'ya  Find  the  next  day,  after 
definitely  promising  to  return  within  ten  days. 

The  young  man's  journey  back  to  Na'ya  Find  was  not  so 
joyful  as  to  make  him  forget  to  eat.     Night  overtook  him  at 

*  The  unleavened  bread  in  common  use  is  eaten  fresli  and  hot,  and  is  unpala- 
table when  cold. 


RELIGIOUS   AWAKENING   AMONG   THE   MEGS.  221 

Philau'ra,  sixteen  miles  east  of  Sial'kot,  where  he  slept  on  the 
ground,  hungry,  no  man  giving  him  to  eat.  At  ten  o'clock 
the  following  day  he  approoched  Na'ya  Find,  with  a  very  dis- 
tinct remembrance  of  the  sad  experience  through  which  he 
had  passed  on  his  first  attempt  at  pilgrimage  seven  years  be- 
fore. With  a  trembling  heart  he  met  his  father,  who  demanded 
to  know  where  he  had  been.  Bhaj'na  told  him  that  he  had 
been  at  Sial'kot  to  see  Pa'dri  Scott;  but  finding  that  his  father 
was  displeased  on  hearing  only  this  much,  he  told  him  noth- 
ing more.  It  was  now  very  evident  to  him  that  the  consent 
of  his  father  could  not  be  obtained,  and  that  if  he  acted  at  all, 
he  must  forsake  his  father  and  mother  and  act  independently 
of  them. 

But  whilst  thus  cut  off  from  sympathy  and  encouragement 
in  this  direction,  he  anticipated  a  very  different  reception  in 
another.  When  the  little  united  band  assembled  in  the  garden 
that  night,  he  opened  his  mind  without  reserve,  and  told  them 
all  that  was  in  his  heart.  He  declared  plainly  that  he  had 
uecided  to  be  a  Christian,  and  that  he  had  made  a  positive 
promise  to  Pa'dri  Scott  before  leaving  Sial'kot,  that  within  ten 
days,  having  visited  his  parents  and  his  bride,  he  would  re- 
turn to  Sial'kot,  there  to  be  baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  and 
to  openly  embrace  the  Christian  religion. 

While  Bhaj'na  thus  definitely  declared  his  intentions  in  the 
presence  of  his  confidential  friends,  Kana'ya,  the  son  of  Lam- 
bardar  Ra'ma  was  present.  Now  Kana'ya  was  a  man  of  few 
words,  very  firm  and  resolute  in  a  course  once  decided  upon, 
and  very  deliberate  in  action.  Pie  was  kind-hearted,  even- 
tempered,  and  full  of  courage.  As  to  education,  he  had  re- 
ceived but  seventeen  days'  of  schooling,  which,  with  his  own 
subsequent  persistent  efforts,  enabled  him  to  read  the  Hindu- 
sta'ni  Bible  printed  in  Roman  letters.  And  being  twelve  or 
thirteen  years  older  than  Bhaj'na,  seasoned  by  a  little  experi- 
ence in  the  world,  and  withal  a  distant  relative,  he  was  just 
such  a  man  as  young  and  timid  Bhaj'na  needed  for  a  compan- 
ion.    Hitherto  Kana'ya  had  thought  much  and  said  little,  but 


222  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

now  his  time  had  come  to  speak.  In  response,  therefore,  to 
Bhaj'na's  declared  intentions,  he  said:  "With  all  my  heart  and 
soul.  Brother  Bhaj'na,  I  am  with  you.  Let  persecution  come! 
Let  tribulation  come!  Let  all  kinds  of  distress  come!  Let 
come  what  may,  I  will  go  with  you  and  be  a  Christian!" 
This  was  Kana'ya's"  first  speech,  and  from  that  hour  he  and 
Bhaj'na  loved  each  other  with  an  affection  like  that  of  David 
and  Jonathan. 

Chan'nu  was  another  whose  heart  warmly  responded  on  this 
occasion.  He  and  Bhaj'na  were  of  the  same  age  and  had 
been  loving  friends  from  their  childhood,  and  his  heart's  desire 
was  to  accompany  his  friend  to  Sial'kot;  but  the  time  set  for 
his  marriage  was  at  hand,  and  just  then  it  was  impossible  for 
him  to  leave. 

Bhaj'na,  keeping  sacredly  in  mind  his  ten-days'  promise  to 
Mr.  Scott,  hasted  away  to  Ba'riyan  for  his  bride,  whose  parents 
at  first  expressed  their  willingness  to  let  her  go,  urging  only 
that  it  was  necessary,  on  this  occasion,  to  make  up  for  her 
some  new  clothes,  which,  they  said,  could  not  be  ready  in  less 
than  fifteen  days.  Now  only  six  of  Bhaj'na's  ten  days  re- 
mained, and  he  told  the  parents  that  after  six  days  it  would  be 
necessary  for  him  to  go  abroad  and  meet  a  certain  person  on 
very  important  business.  "  Perhaps,"  he  added,  "  I  may  never 
return  for  your  daughter  Gula'b'i,  and  you  will  not  be  able  to 
send  her  to  me.  It  is  better,  therefore,  that  you  dispense  with 
the  outfit  of  clothing,  and  let  her  go  now." 

Such  strange  and  mysterious  language  greatly  perplexed  the 
bride's  parents,  but  did  not  dispose  them  to  send  her  away 
with  him  immediately  as  he  requested;  Bhaj'na  therefore  re- 
luctantly departed  without  her,  indulging  the  hope  that  she 
might  join  him  at  some  future  time,  notwithstanding  his 
change  of  faith. 

The  time  set  for  Chan'nu's  marriage  was  rapidly  approach- 
ing, and  according  to  the  law  of  the  Megs  it  was  incumbent 
on  both  Bhaj'na  and  Kana'ya  to  be  present  at  the  wedding. 
Although  Chan'nu  lived  in  Jhandran',  the  marriage  ceremony 


RELIGIOUS   AWAKENING   AMONG   THE    MEGS.  223 

was  to  take  place  at  Dul'ham,  the  bride's  village,  which  lay- 
ten  miles  west  of  Jhandran',  on  the  road  to  Sial'kot.  Thither 
all  the  guests,  to  the  number  of  several  hundreds,  including 
Kan'aya  and  Bhaj'na  with  all  their  kith  and  kin,  were  to  as- 
semble for  a  three  days'  feast,  which  was  to  begin  on  the  ninth 
day;  that  is,  the  day  previous  to  the  one  on  which  Bhaj'na 
had  promised  to  return  to  Mr,  Scott.  The  time  and  place  of 
this  wedding  feast,  therefore,  harmonized  very  well  with  their 
intended  movement;  and  they  both  proceeded  to  Dul'ham 
among  other  guests  on  the  ninth  day,  and  apparently  engaged, 
hke  the  rest,  in  the  festivities  of  the  occasion. 

But  their  feasting  was  only  an  empty  form,  whilst  anxious 
thoughts  filled  their  minds.  As  they  reflected  that  night 
upon  the  step  they  were  taking,  and  counted  the  cost,  some- 
thing very  different  indeed  from  carnal  feasting  filled  their 
souls  and  tried  their  faith.  Poor  old  Ra'ma!  How  he  would 
mourn  over  Kana'ya,  his  only  son!  And  Doa'na  and  Sana'- 
kh'i,  still  in  mourning  for  P'i'po,  their  first-born,  and  doting 
upon  Bhaj'na,  the  only  stay  of  their  old  age — how  desolate 
they  would  feel !  "  Can  we,"  said  the  two  dutiful  sons,  "  leave 
our  parents,  now  growing  old  and  feeble,  to  sorrow  and  mourn? 
Oh,  how  can  we  endure  to  overwhelm  their  souls  with  this 
fresh  grief,  and  break  their  hearts ! " 

Again,  Bhaj'na's  two  sisters,  and  his  brother's  widow  with 
her  four  children,  all  dependent  upon  him,  and  all  disinclined 
to  the  new  religion,  would  feel  that  he  was  utterly  forsaking 
them;  and  his  charming  bride  at  Ba'riyan — her  separation 
from  him  might  be  sealed  forever  as  soon  as  she  should  hear 
of  his  confessing  the  name  of  Christ.  And  not  less  strong 
were  the  ties  of  affection  which  bound  Kana'ya.  Ramde'i,  his 
loving  and  loyal  wife,  endowed  with  intellectual  and  moral 
qualities  rarely  found  in  native  women,  and  proud  of  her  hon- 
orable family,  would  be  decidedly  opposed  to  the  step  which 
he  was  about  to  take  without  her  knowledge,  and  would  be 
more  keenly  sensitive  than  any  one  else  to  the  burning  dis- 
grace ;  and  his  five  fond  children,  as  bright  and  promising  as 


224  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

any  in  the  land,  and  just  as  dear  to  their  father's  heart  as  are 
EngHsh  and  American  children  to  their  parents — these,  too, 
might  be  wrested  from  his  fond  embrace  by  his  numerous 
heathen  relatives.  When  the  two  proposed  pilgrims  fondly 
beheld  all  these  their  loved  ones  moving  in  honor  at  the  head 
o{  Meg  society,  and  joyously  participating  in  the  gay  festivities 
of  that  evening,  and  then  looked  at  the  gulf  which  was  to  sep- 
arate them  on  the  morrow,  they  again  said, "  Can  we  leave  them  ?" 

"  We  love  our  families  more  now  than  we  did  before  we 
heard  of  Jesus'  love,"  said  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na,  as  with  bleed- 
ing hearts  they  communed  secretly  together;  "they  are  all  far 
dearer  to  us  now  than  ever.  And  poor  souls! — what  they 
will  suffer!  They  know  not  our  intention,  and  we  cannot  tell 
them  of  it  without  defeating  our  own  plans;  and  when  they 
see  the  wrath  of  every  one  blazing  forth  against  us,  they  will 
not  be  able  to  endure  it,  and  will  be  sure  to  side  with  our 
enemies." 

Such  were  some  of  the  anxious  thoughts  which  came  with 
crushing  weight  upon  the  minds  of  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na  amid 
the  festivities  of  that  night ;  and  again  they  repeated  to  them- 
selves the  question,  "  Can  zve  leave  them?" 

Sustained  by  the  power  and  presence  of  the  Comforter,  they 
were  enabled  to  say,  "  We  can,  and  we  luill,  forsake  all  for 
Christ — zve  will  take  np  onr  cross  and  follow  him!' 

Even  a  shade  of  anxiety  was  felt  lest  something  might  oc- 
cur to  hinder  them.  "  If  those  mysterious  words  spoken  three 
days  ago  at  Ba'riyan  to  Gula'b'i's  parents  should  be  whispered 
about  here  to-night,"  said  they,  "  we  would  be  suspected.  If 
Chan'nu  should  imprudently  confide  our  secret  to  his  bride, 
who  is  a  bigoted  idolatress,  our  plans  for  to-morrow  would  be 
entirely  frustrated.  If  our  intentions  should  by  any  means  be 
discovered,  we  would  find  it  impossible  to  get  away.  We  must 
therefore  proceed  cautiously." 

At  about  ten  o'clock  on  the  second  day  of  the  wedding, 
Bhaj'na  and  Kana'ya  politely  begged  the  master  of  ceremonies 
to  excuse  them  that  they  might  attend  to  certain  business  in 


RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING   AMONG    THE    MEGS.  22$ 

Gadgor,  a  village  three  miles  west  of  Dul'ham,  on  the  road  to 
Sial'kot.  The  one  said  he  wished  to  buy  two  rupees'  worth  of 
yarn,  and  the  other  was  particularly  anxious  to  procure  some 
seed-corn.  The  company  readily  excused  them  under  the  cir- 
cumstances ;  for  what  could  be  more  necessary  than  yarn  for 
Bhaj'na's  loom  and  seed-corn  for  Kana'ya's  land?  Their 
friends,  therefore,  said,  "  Go,  brothers,  go  by  all  means — but  be 
sure  that  you  hasten  back ;  make  no  delay,  for  we  will  not  dine 
till  you  come." 

When  once  fairly  out  of  Dul'ham  they  postponed  their  busi- 
ness at  Gadgor  for  a  more  convenient  season,  and  the  loving 
and  happy  pair  hurried  on  with  joyful  hearts  and  nimble  steps 
to  Sial'kot,  stopping  only  long  enough  by  the  way  to  eat  a 
melon. 

At  that  time  Mr.  Barr  was  our  only  foreign  missionary  in 
India,  and  was  laboring  in  Gujranwa'la,  thirty  miles  distant  from 
Sial'kot ;  Mr.  Scott,  at  the  same  time  our  only  minister  in  the 
latter  place,  whilst  managing  the  work  of  the  station,  was  very 
often  absent  from  it  preaching  in  the  District;  and  these  two 
inquirers  were  not  a  little  disappointed  when  on  their  arrival  at 
the  south  mission  premises  in  Sial'kot  they  were  informed  by 
John  Clement  that  Pa'dri  Scott  had  gone  on  a  preaching  tour 
to  Samaryal',  twelve  miles  distant  on  the  Wazir'abad'  road. 

Clement  recognized  Bhaj'na,  and  inviting  both  him  and  his 
companion  to  tarry  for  the  night,  asked  them  whether  they  would 
eat  food  which  he  could  give  them  already  prepared,  or  accept 
some  money  from  him  to  buy  food  and  cook  it  for  themselves. 
This  question  rather  startled  them;  for  a  moment  they  stood 
speechless,  looking  down  at  the  ground  and  then  at  each  other. 
The  thought  revolving  in  their  minds  was,  "  If  we  eat  that 
which  has  been  prepared  by  Christians,  our  caste  will  be  brok- 
en, and  never  again  will  we  be  permitted  to  eat,  drink,  smoke, 
or  in  any  way  associate  with  any  of  our  people."  Stepping 
aside  for  a  moment's  consultation,  they  soon  decided  to  eat  for 
the  first  time  a  meal  that  had  been  prepared  by  the  hands  of 
Christians. 
IS 


226  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

Mr.  Clement  urged  them  to  remain  with  him  until  Mr.  Scott 
would  return,  but  they  refused,  being  with  much  difficulty  per- 
suaded even  to  stop  for  the  night.  Posting  themselves  thor- 
oughly as  to  the  road  before  they  lay  down,  they  were  off  the 
next  morning  before  daybreak,  and  taking  a  straight  course 
across  lots  for  Samaryal',  reached  that  town  by  eight  o'clock ; 
but  Pa'dri  Scott  could  not  be  found.  The  people  of  Samaryal' 
gave  very  rough  answers  to  their  inquiries  after  him. 

"  What  business  have  you  with  Pa'dri  Scott  ?  "  they  angrily 
demanded  :  "  Do  you  want  to  be  Kird'nis  ?  " 

These  and  similar  questions  were  put  to  the  two  strangers, 
with  a  very  contemptuous  curl  of  the  lip,  and  there  was  some- 
thing intensely  malignant  in  the  opprobrious  epithet  Kird'nl, 
which  cut  them  to  the  quick,  and  made  them  shrink  from 
speaking  as  unreservedly  as  they  had  begun  to  do.  So  they 
went  about  timidly  inquiring,  until  at  last  a  poor  Chuli'rd  told 
them  that  Pa'dri  Scott  had  recently  been  preaching  there,  but 
had  since  gone  to  Wazir'abad',  fourteen  miles  farther  west. 

Arriving  at  Wazir'abad'  at  noon,  and  feeling  backward  about 
making  inquiries  for  the  Pd'dr'i  Sd'hib,  they  spent  the  whole 
afternoon  in  searching  throughout  the  city,  and  around  the 
outside  of  the  city  wall,  but  all  in  vain — no  sign  of  Mr.  Scott 
or  his  tent  could  anywhere  be  found. 

In  the  evening  hunger  began  to  remind  them  that  they  had 
not  tasted  food  since  they  had  broken  caste  by  eating  at  Sial'- 
kot  on  the  previous  evening.  Going  to  a  young  shopkeeper 
to  procure  small  change  for  a  rupee,  they  made  bold  to  ask 
him  whether  he  had  seen  Pa'dri  Scott. 

"  I  have  seen  no  Pd'dr'i^'  said  the  young  man,  "  but  a  Kir- 
d'n'i  was  preaching  here  three  days  ago ;  with  him  there  were 
two  little  boys  and  another  Kird'n'i.  He  left  this,  and  went  I 
know  not  whither." 

The  two  bewildered  pilgrims  now  knew  not  whether  to  turn 
north,  south,  east,  or  west,  and  felt  much  perplexed.  After 
considering  the  matter,  they  recollected  that  some  one  had 
told  them  that  Pd'dr'i  Swift,  the  brother  of  Pd'dr'i  Scott,  lived 


RELIGIOUS    AWAKENING   AMONG   THE    MEGS.  22/ 

• 

at  the  city  of  Gujranwa'la,  which,  by  inquiring,  they  learned 
was  twenty  miles  south  of  Wazir'abad';  whereupon  they  im- 
mediately started  off  in  that  direction.  After  pursuing  their 
journey  southward  for  two  or  three  hours,  they  began  to  feel 
very  hungry  and  weary,  for  they  had  not  eaten  at  Wazi'r'abad' ; 
they  had  only  changed  their  rupee  with  the  intention  of  buy- 
ing food,  when  the  money-changer's  remark  diverted  their 
attention  to  something  of  more  absorbing  interest  than  that  of 
eating;  but  now  the  cravings  of  hunger  must  be  satisfied. 
Stopping  at  a  village  near  Ghak'kar  (where  are  many  Chris- 
tians at  the  present  day),  they  bought  four  cents'  worth  of  meal ; 
and  having  brought  along  no  vessel  of  any  kind,  they  tried 
from  house  to  house  to  get  some  one  to  make  their  meal  into 
cakes. 

"Who  are  you?"  was  everywhere  the  first  question  asked, 
and  the  villagers  on  learning  that  they  were  weavers,  sent  them 
to  weavers  of  the  Muhammadan  faith;  these  again  questioned 
them  sharply,  and  sent  them  elsewhere.  They  were'  once 
asked  whether  they  were  Hindu  weavers,  and  on  answering 
that  they  were  not,*  were  sent  away  very  rudely.  At  last,  after 
they  had  tried  in  vain  at  many  houses,  using  many  entreaties, 
an  old  woman  mixed  their  meal  with  water  in  a  slovenly  man- 
ner, divided  it  into  three  cakes,  and  gave  it  a  kind  of  half  bak- 
ing, which  made  it  less  savory  than  the  dry  meal.  Taking 
their  unpalatable  cakes  out  of  the  village,  they  sat  down  by  a 
well,  ate  two  of  them,  gave  the  third  one  to  the  dogs,  and  took 
an  unrefreshing  sleep  in  a  filthy  shed  near  the  well.  Long 
before  day  they  were  up  and  on  their  way,  nodding  drowsily, 
stumbling,  feeling  all  the  while  extremely  anxious  lest  Scott 
should  be  encamped  at  some  village  to  the  right  or  left  of  their 
course,  and  they  should  miss  him.  At  -length  between  day- 
light and  sunrise  they  reached  Gujranwa'la.  Here,  after  some 
searching  and  inquiry,  they  found  Mr.  Swift's  house,  and 
learned  that  he  too  was  absent  on  a  preaching  tour  in  the  Dis- 

*  This  was  true  now  since  they  had  broken  caste  by  eating  food  prepared  by 
Christians. 


228  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

trict,  and  that  they  could  probably  find  Mr.  Scott  encamped 
eight  miles  northeast,  about  midway  between  Gujranwa'la  and 
Das'ka.  The  poor  wanderers  were  extremely  tired  and  hun- 
gry on  their  arrival  at  Gujranwa'la,  and  would  gladly  have 
taken  both  food  and  rest,  but  no  one  extending  to  them  the 
offer  of  either,  they  pushed  on  without  even  sitting  down  to 
rest. 

At  the  end  of  those  eight  more  weary  miles  they  did  not 
find  Mr.  Scott,  but  had  the  poor  satisfaction  of  seeing  the 
place  where  his  tent  had  been  pitched,  and  whence  he  had  left 
for  Das'ka  only  three  hours  before  their  arrival.  Another 
weary  tramp  of  seven  miles  brought  them  to  Das'ka,  and  four 
miles  further  on  they  espied  a  tent  yet  two  miles  off,  and  but 
a  very  short  distance  from  Sial'kot,  whence  they  had  started 
early  the  day  before.  The  sight  thrilled  their  hearts  with  joy, 
for  it  was  the  tent  of  him  who  had  preached  to  them  ^'  the  gos- 
pel of  peace','  and  brought  to  their  ears  ^^  glad  tidings  of  good 
things  y 

Great  indeed  was  their  joy  on  reaching  Scott's  hospitable 
tent  and  receiving  his  whole-souled  welcome.  And  deeply 
indeed  did  he  regret  the  fact  that,  instead  of  patiently  waiting 
out  the  ten  days,  he  had  so  far  under-estimated  the  worth  of 
faithful  Bhaj'na's  promise,  and  given  them  such  a  weary  tramp. 
But  now  they  were  glad,  and  in  a  little  while  their  hunger, 
thirst,  watching,  and  anxiety,  and  their  fatiguing  journey  of 
one  hundred  miles  on  foot  were  all  forgotten. 

On  their  way  to  Sial'kot  a  Brahmin  boy  was  seen  sitting  by 
the  roadside,  reading  the  New  Testament.  Mr.  Scott  invited 
him  to  come  along  with  the  rest;  he  followed,  and  became  a 
Christian.  On  reaching  Sial'kot,  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na  were 
taken  into  a  class  ofinquirers  to  be  more  fully  taught. 

During  all  this  time  there  was  great  commotion  at  Dul'ham 
and  Na'ya  Find.  A  messenger  was  sent  out  in  search  of- the 
two  missing  men,  and  when  he  had  returned  and  reported 
that  they  were  with  Pa'dri  Scott  in  Sial'kot,  a  select  force  con- 
sisting of  the  hard-hearted  Diya'la,  the  ambitious  and  unstable 


RELIGIOUS   AWAKENING    AMONG   THE    MEGS.  229 

Fakira,  the  incredulous  Joa'la,  and  two  others,  started  after 
them  forthwith,  and  came  to  Sial'kot,  fully  determined  to  carry 
the  two  "  renegades  "  back  to  Na'ya  Find  at  all  hazards.  At 
first  they  tried  to  reason  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na  into  returning. 
Then  they  offered  to  give  them  money.  Next  they  resorted 
to  humble  entreaty,  taking  off  their  own  turbans  and  casting 
them  down  at  their  feet,  falling  down  before  them  in  the  most 
abject  manner.  Again,  they  appealed  pathetically  to  their 
love  of  home  and  friends :  "  Your  gray-headed  father  and 
mother,"  they  said,  "  are  now  weeping  for  you.  How  can  you 
break  their  hearts,  and  bring  them  down  to  the  grave  with  sor- 
row? Your  families  are  desolate.  How  can  you  thus  leave 
them  to  go  to  destruction?"  Finally,  they  burst  out  into  a 
furious  rage,  and  were  restrained  only  by  fear  from  using  vio- 
lence. 

Whilst  the  constancy  of  those  two  young  disciples  was  being 
put  to  this  severe  test.  Brother  Scott  took  Clement  and  all  the 
other  Christians  into  a  room,  and  prayed  for  them.  The 
ordeal  to  which  the  faith  and  love  of  the  converts  was  sub- 
jected was  terribly  severe — too  much  so  for  unaided  human 
nature ;  for  when  they  were  told  that  their  old  gray-headed  par- 
ents were  weeping  and  sorrowing  after  them,  they  were  greatly 
troubled.  But  the  Lord  stood  by  them  ;  and  after  recovering 
the  mastery  over  their  feelings,  they  answered  frankly,  "  If  we 
were  even  to  die  for  it,  we  will  not  leave  Christ;  and  we  desire 
that  you  also  believe  on  him  ;  for  if  you  do  not,  you  cannot 
be  saved." 

After  a  few  days,  they  besought  Mr.  Scott  to  administer  to 
them  the  rite  of  baptism.  As  long  as  a  convert  neglects  or 
postpones  this  ordinance,  the  heathen  count  him  as  belonging 
to  their  own  ranks.  It  matters  not  so  much  what  he  may  say; 
he  may  talk  and  preach  like  a  Christian,  yet  as  long  as  he  does 
not  publicly  comply  with  Christ's  command  by  receiving  bap- 
tism in  the  name  of  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Ghost,  his  moral 
influence  is  not  with  Christ  but  against  him ;  he  does  not 
fully  confess  him  before  men ;  he  does  not  bear  his  reproach 


230  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

nor  take  up  his  cross.  It  would  be  an  easy  matter  to  build 
up  a  large  church  in  India  if  baptism  were  treated  as  an  un- 
necessary thing  (as  has  sometimes  been  the  case),  but  such  a 
church  would  not  be  one  that  honestly  confessed  Christ,  taking 
up  his  cross  and  bearing  his  reproach.  In  the  light  of  these 
things  we  can  easily  understand  the  importance  attached  to 
baptism,  not  only  by  missionaries,  but  by  all  true  converts, 

A  convenient  day  in  November,  1866,  was  set,  when  Kan- 
a'ya,  Bhaj'na,  Abdul'lah  and  three  others  were  formally  and 
solemnly  received  into  the  Church ;  and  we  can  well  appreci- 
ate their  feelings  on  this  joyful  occasion,  as  expressed  by 
Bhaj'na,  who  had  loved  Jesus  for  seven  long  years.  He  said, 
"  The  great  desire  of  our  hearts  is  at  last  fulfilled ;  we  have  now 
given  ourselves  up  to  Jesus  Christ!' 

"  In  Thee  my  soul  hath  shelter  found, 
And  Thou  hast  been  from  foes  around 

The  tower  of  my  defence ;  \ 

My  home  shall  Thy  pavilion  be ; 
To  covert  of  Thy  wings  I'll  flee, 

And  find  deliverance." 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

AMONG   WOLVES. 

THE  NEW  CONVERTS  VISIT  THEIR  OLD  NEIGHBORHOOD — WIDESPREAD 
AND  INTENSE  EXCITEMENT  ON  THEIR  ARRIVAL — HEATHEN  RELATIVES 
MOURN,  USE  ENTREATIES,  ARGUE,  APPEAL  TO  THEIR  FEELINGS,  BURST 
OUT  INTO  ANGER — WHO  CAN  BE  A  LAMBARDAR  ? — CONVERTS  MOBBED 
AND  BEATEN — THE  RINGLEADER,  HUMBLED,  GIVES  THE  CHRISTIANS 
SOME  LAND — OLD  ENMITY  STRONG  AS  EVER — TWENTY-FIVE  MEN  SE- 
CRETLY LEAGUE  AGAINST  NEW  CONVERTS — SEPARATION  FROM  DEAR- 
EST FRIENDS — COMFORT  FROM  THE  WORDS  OF  JESUS — CHRISTIANS 
ATTEND  A  WEDDING  AT  BA^JO-KA-CHAK — BHA/NA  AND  HIS  BRIDE 
BOTH  THERE — NOT  PERMITTED  TO  EXCHANGE  A  WORD — AN  AMIABLE 
AND  AFFECTIONATE  MOTHER-IN-LAW — THE  GRUFF  FATHER-IN-LAW — 
RU^RA,  THE  BEAR — "  SATAN'S  AGENT " — A  SCHEME  TO  GET  THE  CON- 
VERTS TO  DENY  CHRIST — LOVING  LA^DO'S  TEARS  AND  ELOQUENCE — 
RU^RA'S  PARTY  AND  LA^DO'S — RU^RA  COUNSELS  VIOLENCE  AGAINST 
THE  CHRISTIANS — CONVERTS  ESCAPE  WITH  LA^DO  TO  SALOWAL — PUR- 
SUED BY  RU^RA'S  MOB  AT  MIDNIGHT — "  BEAT  THEM  TO  DEATH  IF  THEY 
DO  NOT  recant" — ON  THEIR  KNEES  AND  READY  FOR  DEATH — THE 
VOICE  OF  A  RESOLUTE  WOMAN — "WE'lL  COUNT  YOU  AS  ONE  OF 
them" — "  DARE  YOU  LAY  HANDS  ON  MY  MOTHER?" — GREAT  UPROAR 
— THE  OPEN  DOOR — "THE  SNARE  IS  RENT  AND  WE  ARE  FREE" — KA^LA 
PA^NI — SCOTT  CASTLE. 

'^  T)  EH  OLD,  I  send  you  forth  as  sheep  in  the  midst  of  wolves : 
xJ  be  ye  therefore  wise  as  serpents,  and  harmless  as  doves y 
After  the  new  converts  had  been  taught  and  confirmed  by 
the  brethren  at  Sial'kot  for  a  period  of  three  months,  Mr. 
Scott  and  Mr.  Clement,  accompanied  by  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na 
and  one  other  Christian,  went  to  Zafarwal'  and  pitched  their 
tent  just  outside  of  the  town.  The  village  of  Na'ya  Find,  being 
only  about  a  mile  distant,  was  soon  agog  at  the  news  of  their 
arrival;  and  a  promiscuous  multitude,  gathering  from  every 
direction,  came  to  see  the  two  men  whose  mysterious  conduct 
was  the  all-absorbing  topic  of  conversation.     A  general  feel- 

(231) 


232  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

ing  of  indignation  at  Bhaj'na  and  Kana'ya  for  turning  Chris- 
tians, pervaded  the  city  of  ZafarwaF  and  all  the  villages 
around  it  for  many  miles.  Not  only  Megs,  but  Hindus  of 
other  castes  bearing  no  affinity  to  them,  and  Muhammadans, 
who  hate  Hindus  of  every  caste,  were  drawn  together  by  the 
intensity  of  their  common  hatred  of  these  new  converts ;  and 
nowhere  else  was  this  hatred  so  intense  as  in  their  own  vil- 
lage, and  in  the  homes  and  hearts  of  their  own  relatives.  The 
"almost  Christians"  of  the  Meg  community  were  either  carried 
along  with  the  multitude  by  the  intensity  of  popular  excitement 
or  terrified  into  silence;  and  our  little  Christian  band  of  six 
men,  encamped  in  the  suburbs  of  Zafarwal',  stood  face  to  face 
with  the  angry  and  excited  multitude. 

Ra'ma,  Doa'na,  and  Sana'khi,  with  faces  all  disfigured  by 
excessive  weeping,  displayed  their  dishevelled  gray  locks  be- 
fore their  two  "apostate"  sons,  beat  their  breasts  in  demonstra- 
tion of  bitter  grief,  and  said,  "  Return  to  our  rehgion,  or  we 
shall  die." 

To  this  tender  parental  appeal,  Bhaj'na  and  Kana'ya  replied, 
"  We  never  found  any  consolation  for  our  hearts  until  we  com- 
mitted ourselves  to  Jesus.  Come  you  also  to  him,  or  you  will 
all  surely  perish," 

The  other  relatives  of  the  two  new  converts,  who  were  out 
in  full  force,  thought  it  a  marvelous  thing  that  these  sons, 
these  once  loving  and  dutiful  sons,  could  not  be  moved  by  the 
grief,  tears  and  entreaties  of  their  aged  parents.  Taking  them 
aside  one  by  one,  they  themselves  renewed  the  effort  to  draw 
them  with  cords  of  love,  saying,  "  Brothers,  you  are  not  be- 
yond all  hope;  you  are  still  very  dear  to  us;  we  are  willing  to 
receive  you  again,  if  you  will  only  return  to  us." 

They  replied,  "  We  have  entrusted  our  souls  to  Jesus  Christ, 
who  is  the  maker  of  the  whole  heaven  and  earth,  and  we  will 
never  leave  him,  let  happen  what  will,  even  to  the  giving  up 
of  our  lives." 

Lambardar'  Diya'la  on  hearing  this  declaration  of  their 
faith,  stood  before  them,  and  notwithstanding  his  official  posi- 


AMONG   WOLVES.  233 

tion  among  the  Megs,  and  the  honorable  esteem  in  which  he 
was  held,  humbled  himself  to  the  dust,  that  he  might  induce 
them  if  possible  to  return  to  their  former  religion.  Baring 
his  lofty  head,  and  casting  his  snow-white  turban  at  their  feet, 
he  said,  "  My  sons,  you  are  not  yet  harmed  beyond  remedy. 
We  will  be  glad  to  receive  you  again  as  part  of  ourselves." 
Then  addressing  them  separately,  he  continued:  "Bhaj'na,  you 
are  an  ojtly  son.  Behold  your  sorrowing  father  and  mother ! 
Kana^ya,  your  mother  is  no  more,  and  your  old  father  is  left 
desolate ;  you  too  are  an  only  son,  and  will  you  leave  him  ? 
Oh,  how  can  you  thus  bring  their  hoary  heads  with  sorrow  to 
ashes  ! " 

"Oh,  Uncle,"*  they  replied,  "can  we  leave  Christ  and  pro- 
fess our  belief  in  your  false  religion,  which  has  no  God?  No, 
Uncle,  such  a  thing  can  never  be." 

Ramde'i,  as  already  intimated,  was  a  noble  specimen  of  a 
native  woman,  and  a  loving  wife  to  Kana'ya';  but  public  opin- 
ion is  as  iron-handed  a  tyrant,  in  India  as  elsewhere.  "  What 
the  neighbors  think,"  exerts  as  profound  an  influence  over  the 
women  of  India  as  of  Great  Britain  or  America.  Little  chil- 
dren, too,  although  they  cannot  take  an  active  part  in  religious 
fanaticism,  can  nevertheless  see  which  way  the  storm  blows, 
and  can  feel  the  effect  of  its  violence.  Basso,  Kana'ya's  first- 
born, was  a  fine  girl  of  nine  years,  and,  both  physically  and 
intellectually  the  very  image  of  her  mother  Ramde'i.  Lah'nu 
and  Gan'du  were  intelligent,  obedient,  and  industrious  boys, 
of  whom  their  father  was  justly  proud;  and  sweet  little  Mak'- 
han,  the  youngest  but  one,  was  her  father's  favorite,  and  about 
as  beautiful  and  lovely  in  Kana'ya  s  eyes  as  a  child  could  pos- 
sibly be  to  the  most  affectionate  parent.  These  lovely  chil- 
dren gathered  around  Kana'ya,  sobbing  and  crying,  and  won- 
dering why  their  good  papa,  whom  they  had  all  along  loved 
so  dearly,  had  now  become  so  wicked.  Ramde'i  stood  before 
him  weeping,  ever  and  anon  giving  vent  in  short  and  broken 
utterances  to  the  inward  bitterness  of  her  soul,  and  pathetically 
*"  Uncle  "  is  often  used  as  a  term  of  respect  only. 


234  <^UR    INDIA    MISSION. 

entreating  him  to  return — "'Oh,  my  husband,  come  home, 
come  home  again !  Care  for  your  children !  Come  home  to 
me!  Oh,  what  have  the  Pa' dr'is  taught  you?  Bhaj'na,  that 
vile  creature,  has  ruined  you !  Alas !  this  disgrace,  alas !  And 
you  are  separated  from  me!" 

Kana'ya,  struggling  manfully  to  suppress  his  rising  emotion, 
replied,  "  Oh,  Lahnu's  mother,  if  but  you  are  willing  and  will 
speak  your  consent,  I  will  return  to  Na'ya  Find  to-morrow, 
and  dwell  with  you  and  our  dear  children.  I  will  do  for  your 
support  and  comfort  as  much  as  I  ever  did,  and  care  for  you 
as  affectionately;  but  I  will  do  it  all  as  a  Christian,  and  will  re- 
main a  Christiany 

The  assembled  crowd,  perceiving  that  all  these  most  touch- 
ing appeals  from  the  nearest  and  dearest  earthly  relations 
proved  ineffectual,  wondered  at  the  change  which  had  come 
over  the  two  "  perverts,"  and  losing  all  hope  of  moving  their 
"  hard  hearts,"  turned  away  in  anger,  and  went  every  man  to 
his  own  village ;  the  Christians  entered  their  tent,  prayed  earn- 
estly for  their  enemies,  and  retired  for  the  night.  It  was  Sat- 
urday. 

A  Lambardar  of  a  town  or  village  must  be  a  man  of  some 
property,  because  the  Government  holds  him  responsible  for 
the  rents  of  land  cultivated  by  the  men  of  his  town  or  village ; 
or  if  there  are  several  Lmnbarddrs  in  the  same  village,  each  is 
responsible  for  the  rent  of  a  certain  part  of  the  village  land. 
The  villagers  in  choosing  a  Lambardar,  and  the  Government 
in  confirming  their  choice,  have  regard  to  heirship,  and  prefer 
one  who  is  the  son  of  a  Lambardar ;  but  they  also  have  an 
eye  to  his  force  of  character,  managing  ability,  and  general  in- 
fluence in  his  community.  Ha'san  Khan,  of  Zafarwal',  had  a 
large  Lambardarship,  extending  over  600  acres  of  Zafarwal' 
land,  and  including  the  portion  set  off  to  Na'ya  Find.  He  was 
a  Muhammadan,  and  a  man  of  great  influence  and  force  of 
character,  and  a  most  zealous  opposer  of  the  Christian  religion. 
In  the  new  village  community  at  Na'ya  Find  there  was  no 
man  better  fitted  in  every  way  for  the  position  of  Lambardar 


AMONG    WOLVES.  23$ 

than  Kana'ya;  consequently  his  movements  were  watched 
with  a  jealous  eye  by  both  Ha'san  Khan  and  Dia'la — not  so 
much  that  they  were  opposed  to  his  merely  coming  into  the 
Lambardarship ;  but,  regarding  him  as  a  man  of  influence 
through  whose  persuasion  others  might  become  Christians, 
they  doubted  "whereunto  this  would  grow"  if  he  were  not 
kept  down.  They,  therefore,  set  themselves  against  him  with 
great  zeal  and  determination,  being  specially  zealous  to  prevent 
him  from  speaking  to  any  of  his  relatives,  lest  he  should  per- 
suade them  to  become  Christians. 

On  Sabbath  morning,  after  breakfast  and  prayer,  and  a  brief 
consultation  with  Mr.  Scott,  Kana'ya  took  Bhaj'na  with  him 
to  Na'ya  Find  and  entered  his  own  house.  Ramde'i  seated 
them,  and  they  began  to  explain : 

"  You  must  not  think,"  said  Kana'ya  to  his  wife,  "  that  I 
love  you  and  the  children  any  less  because  I  am  a  Christian ; 
I  will  be  a  better  husband  and  a  better  father  than  before ;  and 
you  must  not  imagine  that  I  am  going  away,  or  that  I  wish 
to  be  separated  from  you  all.  It  is  my  wish  and  intention  to 
live  in  my  own  village,  in  my  own  house,  and  with  my  own 
wife  and  children,  whom  I  dearly  love." 

Kana'ya  had  scarcely  well  begun  to  speak,  when  behold,  the 
courtyard  of  his  house  was  filled  with  an  angry  and  excited 
mob,  which  having  seen  him  enter  his  own  door,  instantly  col- 
lecting, with  Ha'san  Khan  and  Dia'Ia  as  ringleaders,  encom- 
passed his  house  and  thronged  the  courtyard.  ^^ Seize  them! 
Beat  them!  Beat  tJiem  to  death  f  "  shouted  Dia'la,  in  a  loud 
and  commanding  tone.  "  Why  will  they  not  hearken  to  our 
words?  They  will  ruin  all  our  people  with  their  new  religion." 
Ha'san  Khan  rushed  into  the  room  where  the  family  were  as- 
sembled, and  began  beating  Bhaj'na  and  Kana'ya  with  his 
fists.  Then,  remembering  that  blows  from  the  hand  of  so 
honorable  a  man  as  himself  were  altogether  too  good  treat- 
ment for  such  vile  wretches  as  he  regarded  Christians  to  be, 
he  took  off  his  shoe  and  beat  them  with  it,  and  boiling  over 
with  rage  reviled  and  threatened  them,  forbidding  them  ever 
again  to  venture  into  the  village. 


236  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Against  such  cruel  treatment  the  natural  love  of  Doa'na  and 
Ra'ma  for  their  own  sons,  prompted  them  to  remonstrate;  fear 
also  seized  Ha'san  Khan  and  Dia'la,  lest  the  Government 
might  call  them  to  account.  These  circumstances,  together 
with  the  outcry  which  Bhaj'na  raised,  had  the  effect  of  moder- 
ating their  violent  proceedings,  when  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na 
escaped,  half  naked  and  badly  bruised,  and  returned  to  their 
brethren,  who,  having  heard  the  uproar  from  their  tent,  were 
hastening  to  their  aid. 

Mr.  Scott  reported  this  affair  to  the  Government  authorities 
at  Zafarwal',  not  that  he  wished  those  evil  doers  punished,  but 
that  they  might  be  restrained,  by  a  wholesome  fear,  from  fur- 
ther violence.  But  no  one  in  Na'ya  Find  could  be  prevailed 
upon  to  come  forward  as  a  witness  and  confirm  Mr.  Scott's 
report;  he  and  the  Christians  who  were  with  him,  therefore, 
made  their  own  statement  to  the  Government,  after  which  they 
met  together  and  prayed  the  Lord  to  soften  the  hearts  of  their 
opponents. 

That  same  evening  Ha'san  Khan,  moved  by  fear,  and  wish- 
ing to  conciliate  Mr.  Scott,  came  to  him  of  his  own  accord, 
confessed  his  fault,  and,  before  leaving,  promised  to  sell  him, 
at  a  reasonable  price,  eleven  acres  of  land  at  the  south  side  of 
Zafarwal' — a  concession  of  vast  importance  to  our  mission 
work,  as  will  hereafter  appear.  Also  afterwards  witnesses 
came  forward  from  Na'ya  Find  and  confirmed  the  report  which 
Mr.  Scott  had  made  to  the  Government.  Ha'san  Khan,  who 
had  acted  as  ringleader  in  assaulting  the  Christian  converts, 
was  fined,  and  placed  under  a  bond  of  two  hundred  rupees  to 
keep  the  peace ;  but  the  fine  was  remitted  at  the  request  of  the 
Christians  themselves. 

That  arch  enemy  of  the  Christians,  Ha'san  Khan,  having 
thus,  from  motives  of  fear  and  policy,  put  on  an  outward  ap- 
pearance of  friendship,  and  others  being  brought  under  a 
wholesome  fear  of  Government,  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na  once 
more  began  to  visit  Na'ya  Find,  and  testify  to  their  house- 
holds "  the  Gospel  of  the  grace  of  God','  and  were  not  long  in 


AMONG    WOLVES.  237 

finding  that  the  old  enmity  was  as  strong  and  deep-rooted  there 
as  ever.  The  men  of  the  village,  especially  those  related  to  the 
new  converts,  spoke  evil  to  them  and  of  them,  cursing  them 
with  great  bitterness.  Twenty-five  men  of  the  village  met  se- 
cretly and  resolved  to  put  a  stop  to  Kana'ya's  visits,  to  bar  him 
from  all  intercourse  with  his  children,  and  not  allow  him  so 
much  as  to  speak  to  his  wife,  lest  he  should  persuade  her  to 
become  a  Christian.  They  agreed  that  if  he  should  ever  come 
to  preach  to  her  they  would  arrest  him  as  a  thief,  and  accuse 
him  before  the  judges  of  the  civil  court;  and  two  men  were 
detailed  to  watch  for  him  day  and  night. 

Ramde'i,  whilst  always  treating  her  husband  and  his  friend 
kindly,  and  never  allowing  her  temper  to  become  ruffled  in 
the  least,  was  not  a  Christian.  Standing  firm  with  the  opposi- 
tion, she  refused  to  make  any  show  of  yielding  as  long  as  she 
was  not  convinced.  Her  independence  of  mind — remarkable 
in  a  native  woman  of  India — and  her  outward  consistency  with 
the  state  of  her  heart  in  regard  to  the  Christian  religion,  elic- 
ited the  remark  from  Mr.  Scott,  that  if  Ramde'i  should  ever 
become  a  Christian  she  would  certainly  be  a  convert  worth 
having.  The  opposers  also  appreciated  such  a  character  as  a 
strong  bulwark  of  their  heathen  religion. 

Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na,  though  not  aware  of  the  secret  com- 
bination against  themselves  in  their  village,  knew  enough  to 
make  them  feel  that  they  were  effectually  cut  off  from  father 
and  mother,  wife  and  children,  house  and  land.  When  a  little 
leisure  had  given  them  time  to  reflect  upon  their  situation, 
they  sat  down,  New  Testament  in  hand,  and  read  the  words  of 
Jesus : — "  Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  send  peace " — "  Ye 
shall  be  hated  of  all  men  for  my  name's  sake" — "A  man's  foes 
shall  be  they  of  his  own  household" — "He  that  loveth  father 
or  mother  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me ;  he  that  loveth 
son  or  daughter  more  than  me  is  not  worthy  of  me;  he  that 
taketh  not  his  cross  and  followeth  after  me  is  not  worthy  of 
me."  "  Marvel  not,  my  brethren,  if  the  world  hate  you" — "  If 
the  world  hate  you,  ye  know  that  it  hated  me  before  it  hated 


238  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

you  " — "  If  they  have  persecuted  me,  they  will  also  persecute 
you." — "  Blessed  are  ye,  when  men  shall  revile  you,  and  perse- 
cute you,  and  shall  say  all  manner  of  evil  against  you  falsely, 
for  my  sake.  Rejoice  and  be  exceeding  glad,  for  great  is  your 
reward  in  heaven :  for  so  persecuted  they  the  prophets  which 
were  before  you."  From  these  and  many  other  like  words  did 
the  two  persecuted  disciples  take  comfort  in  their  pilgrimage, 
often  exclaiming  in  the  fervor  of  their  first  love — "  How  true ! 
O  how  true  and  how  precious  are  the  words  of  Jesus !  And 
how  sweet  it  is  to  know  that  we  are  treated  just  as  he  was!" 

Whilst  Mr.  Scott  and  his  Christian  companions  and  fellow 
laborers  still  occupied  their  tent  at  Zafarwal',  word  reached 
them  of  a  wedding  about  to  take  place  four  miles  east,  at  the 
village  of  Ba'jo-ka-chak,  at  which  Doa'na  and  Sana'khi  and 
all  the  rest  of  Bhaj'na's  relatives  were  to  be  present.  As  hun- 
dreds of  people,  all  excited  on  the  subject  of  the  new  religion, 
would  be  assembled  on  this  occasion  for  a  stay  of  several  days, 
affording  an  excellent  opportunity  for  publishing  the  Gospel  far 
and  wide,  Mr.  Scott  and  his  company  started  off  immediately, 
not  even  delaying  so  long  as  to  take  their  tent  with  them,  lest 
the  golden  opportunity  should  be  lost.  Amongst  those  who 
were  to  make  up  the  happy  throng  at  Ba'jo-ka-chak,  was  one 
in  whom  Bhaj'na  felt  a  deep  interest;  Gula'bi,  his  enchanting 
bride,  was  to  be  there  as  one  of  the  honored  guests,  and  the 
prospect  of  possibly  finding  an  opportunity  of  rescuing  from 
captivity  and  possessing  himself  of  her  who  was  his  by  right, 
and  bearing  her  away  triumphantly  to  make  happy  a  home  of 
his  own,  raised  the  hopes  and  quickened  the  steps  of  the  young 
man  and  his  sympathizing  companions,  as  they  hastened 
towards  Ba'jo-ka-chak. 

Camping  out  under  a  large  tree  near  the  village,  the  Chris- 
tian band  was  soon  the  centre  of  interest  to  the  assembled 
guests,  who  eagerly  crowded  around  them,  curious  to  see 
Kird'nis — especially  the  two  who  had  just  broken  caste  and 
separated  from  their  own  tribe,  and  whose  change  of  religion 
.had  now  become  the  exciting  topic  of  conversation. 


AMONG  WOLVES.  239 

The  bitterness  with  which  the  new  converts  were  reproached 
and  reviled  by  their  own  relatives — all  present  on  this  festive 
occasion — for  faithlessly  and  impiously  forsaking  the  religion  of 
their  ancestors,  was  intense.  On  the  other  hand  Messrs.  Scott 
and  Clement  improved  the  time  by  meekly,  yet  earnestly  and 
diligently,  preaching  the  love  of  Jesus,  taking  special  pains  to 
assure  their  hearers  that  those  who  had  now  become  Christ's  dis- 
ciples would,  in  every  relation  of  life,  be  better  men  than  before ; 
and  better  to  tJiem,  if  only  welcomed  once  more  to  their  midst. 

Gula'bi,  as  Bhaj'na  had  fondly  expected,  was  there,  but  found 
no  opportunity  of  speaking  to  her  husband;  whilst  he  found 
his  way  completely  barred  against  speaking  a  single  word  to 
her.  So  watchfully  and  constantly  was  she  guarded  by  her 
near  relatives,  that  no  possible  chance  remained  for  them  to 
exchange  a  solitary  word.  They  were  really  truly  married, 
their  nuptials  having  been  publicly  and  formally  celebrated  in 
the  usual  manner  of  their  caste.  They  had  also  at  the  time 
of  their  marriage  enjoyed  each  other's  company  for  one  brief 
week,  after  which  she  returned,  according  to  custom,  to  live  a 
while  longer  with  her  parents.  During  their  brief  and  only  in- 
tercourse she  had  vowed  to  be  his,  and  definitely  and  decidedly 
expressed  her  devotion  to  him.  That  she  did  so  unconstrained 
and  of  her  own  voluntary  choice  admitted  of  no  doubt  in 
Bhaj'na's  mind,  and  she  was  now  justly  regarded  by  him  as  his 
own  wife — joined  to  him  by  a  bond  which  nothing  but  death 
should  ever  be  allowed  to  sunder.  But  now,  in  the  very  midst 
of  a  marriage  festival,  where  hundreds  of  merry  guests  all 
around  them  were  feasting  and  revelling  to  their  heart's  de- 
light, an  occasional  glance  despondently  cast  at  each  other  was 
the  only  poor  tantalizing  comfort  which  the  unhappy  pair  were 
permitted  to  realize  from  their  sacred  union. 

It  will,  doubtless,  be  of  interest  to  the  reader  to  have  a  slight 
acquaintance  with  some  of  the  prominent  guests  at  the  mar- 
riage in  progress  at  Ba'jo-ka-chak,  who  were  related  to  Bhaj'na 
and  Gula'bi — especially  the  latter — and  I  will  here  give  some 
of  them  a  brief  introduction: 


240  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

La'do,  the  mother  of  Gula'bi,  from  the  village  of  Ba'riyan, 
was  handsome,  and  much  beloved  for  her  sweet  temper  and 
gentle  manners.  To  her,  Bhaj'na  was  a  model  son-in-law,  with 
the  single  exception  of  his  being  a  Christian,  whilst  she  in  turn 
was  his  beau-ideal  of  a  mother-in-law.  So  affectionate — so 
motherly — not  reproaching  him,  as  did  others,  for  his  change 
of  religion,  which  she  regretted  as  deeply  as  any,  but  weeping 
bitterly  at  the  thought  of  it  whenever  they  met,  and  always 
addressing  him  as  Me'rd  Put' tar  (my  son),  or  So'nd  (gold)  or 
some  other  like  term  of  endearment — her  influence  over  the 
youth  was  almost  supreme. 

Lak'hu,  the  husband  of  La'do,  was  a  large,  well-proportioned 
man,  of  stern  countenance,  and  very  thorough  both  in  his  busi- 
ness transactions  and  in  his  religion ;  carrying  himself  with 
dignity,  and  always  speaking  his  few  words  right  to  the  point, 
he  impressed  those  who  approached  him  with  feelings  of  posi- 
tive respect.  Zealously  attached  to  idolatry,  he  was  of  course 
decidedly  opposed  to  Christianity,  and  was  prepared  to  enter 
readily  into  any  scheme  that  was  adverse  to  Christians  and 
their  religion. 

Ru'ra,  the  husband  of  La'do's  elder  sister,  a  heavy  set, 
coarse,  burly  man,  with  a  huge  black  beard,  was  ambitious,  of- 
ficious, hot  tempered  and  overbearing, — as  genuine  a  bear  as  a 
man  could  possibly  be.  Among  the  Christians  he  was  known 
by  the  significant  title  of  "  Satan's  agent,"  because  of  his  pub- 
licly and  rudely  opposing  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  when- 
ever he  found  an  opportunity.  An  atheist  of  the  Gid'db  da' si 
school,  he  could  dare  to  rail  blasphemously  against  the  God 
of  heaven,  and  even  to  assert  that  he  himself  was  God.  Ru'- 
ra's  zeal  to  bring  about  Bhaj'na's  apostasy,  or,  failing  in  this, 
to  effect  a  total  separation  between  him  and  Gula'bi,  knew  no 
bounds.  This  enemy's  village-home  was  situated  a  little  north 
of  the  scene  of  the  wedding,  within  the  bounds  of  the  kingdom 
of  Kashmir.  The  bride  of  the  present  occasion  was  La'do's 
niece. 

North  of  Ba'jo-ka-chak  lay  the  village  of  Salowal',  where 


AMONG   WOLVES.       '  24 1 

lived  the  mother  of  a  Httle  bride — long  since  dead — who  had 
been  espoused  to  Bhaj'na  when  he  was  a  child.  Salowal'  was 
full  of  people  of  the  Meg  tribe,  as  was  also  Jhandran',  Ba'rian 
and  Ba'jo-ka-chak;  and  in  all  of  these  villages  the  J/r^familes 
were  extensively  related  by  intermarriages.  We  now  return  to 
the  wedding  in  progress  at  Ba'jo-ka-chak. 

The  large  circle  of  Bhaj'na's  relatives  maybe  viewed  as  con- 
sisting of  two  parties,  the  one  embracing  those  who  were  per- 
sonally attached  to  him,  and  at  least  some  of  whom  saw  more 
or  less  good  in  Christianity;  the  other,  those  who  were  not 
personally  interested  in  him,  and  were  bigoted  heathen.  We 
will  call  the  former  La'do's  party,  and  the  latter  Ru'ra's.  On 
one  point  these  parties  were  agreed — both  being  alike  desirous 
that  Bhaj'na  should  deny  Christ,  and  return  to  the  Meg  reli- 
gion. For  the  difficult  task  of  winning  him  back  to  heathen- 
ism, no  person  in  all  that  assembly  was  so  well  qualified  as  was 
La'do,  and  to  this  business  she  addressed  herself  with  a  zeal 
and  tact  which  would  have  been  worthy  of  a  better  cause. 

First  of  all,  Lak'hu,  her  own  husband,  was  put  forward  to 
request  Mr.  Scott  to  go  away  to  Zafarwal',  and  leave  Kana'ya 
and  Bhaj'na  at  Ba'jo-ka-chak.  Scott,  rather  to  their  surprise, 
very  promptly  complied  with  their  request.  Believing  that 
the  two  Christians  were  genuine  converts,  and  sufficiently  in- 
structed to  be  able  to  give  an  answer  to  those  who  should  ask 
about  their  hope,  and  believing  also  that  an  attempt  on  their 
part  to  stand  alone  would  do  them  good,  he  left  them  and  re- 
turned to  the  tent  at  Zafarwal'.  La'do  and  her  coadjutors 
immediately  began  to  put  the  rest  of  their  scheme  into  opera- 
tion, feeling  confident  of  success  as  soon  as  they  had  the  con- 
verts alone,  being  totally  ignorant  of  the  deep  and  radical 
change  which  God  had  wrought  in  their  hearts. 

The  wedding-feast  was  duly  prepared,  and  Pd'dr'i  Scott 
being  disposed  of,  the  next  part  of  the  scheme  was  to  invite 
the  two  converts  in  a  most  friendly  and  cordial  manner  to  sit 
down  and  partake  as  honored  guests.  This  was  to  be  fol- 
lowed up  by  a  course  of  kind  treatment,  which  it  was  believed 
16 


242  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

would  gradually  and  entirely  re-instate  them  in  their  ancestral 
faith. 

Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na  having  learned  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  did  not  consist  in  meat  and  drink,  raised  no  objection  to 
eating,  even  though  well  aware  that  their  so  doing  would  be 
viewed  as  an  act  of  the  most  intimate  friendship.  La'do  and 
her  party  were  delighted.  Viewing  religion  as  something 
which  consists  only  in  eating  and  drinking  and  other  outward 
acts,  their  hopes  were  raised  high,  and  they  became  sanguine 
of  complete  and  speedy  success,  on  finding  the  Christians  will- 
ing to  sit  down  with  them  at  this  wedding-feast. 

Ru'ra's  party,  including  a  wide  circle  o{  Afcgs  who  felt  no 
personal  friendship  for  Bhaj'na,  seeing  him  and  his  Christian 
companion  about  to  eat  with  the  other  guests,  rose  up  with  a 
most  emphatic  "  A^<9 .^  No!  If  these  Kird'n'is  are  permitted 
to  eat  with  us,  our  caste  too  will  be  broken;  we  will  be  pol- 
luted, and  left  without  a  religion."  Nothing  will  rouse  a  Hindu 
community  like  a  question  of  eating,  drinking,  and  such  other 
acts  as  affect  their  caste. 

The  two  parties  were  instantly  arrayed  against  each  other. 
La'do's  friends  declared  that  there  was  no  danger,  that  eating 
with  them  could  do  no  one  any  harm ;  whilst  the  other  party 
loudly  objected  that  it  would  never  do.  The  contention  spread 
wider  and  wider,  and  grew  hotter  and  louder,  until  every  one 
became  involved  in  the  general  tumult.  Ru'ra  (who,  I  omitted 
to  say,  held  the  position  of  Civil-Ecclesiastico-Chief-Judge  in 
the  Megs'  little  court  of  arbitration,  which  is  called  a  Pan- 
chd'yat) — thinking  the  occasion  had  now  arrived  for  him  to 
show  his  authority,  rose  up,  and  sharply  rebuked  La'do  and  all 
those  who  had  joined  in  her  scheme,  for  daring  to  propose  seat- 
ing two  Kird'n'is  at  the  table  of  a  Meg  brotherhood.  Then 
roughly  seizing  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na,  he  violently  thrust  them 
out  of  the  room  in  which  the  entertainment  had  been  spread. 

It  was  ten  o'clock  at  night.     La'do,  Doa'na,  Sana'khi,  and 

others  who  sympathized  with  their  liberal  and  gentle  policy, 

-obeying  the  more  tender  impulses  of  their  nature,  followed 


AMONG    WOLVES.  243 

their  two  persecuted  relatives  who  had  been  so  summarily 
ejected,  audaciously  declaring  that  when  their  own  sons  could 
eat,  then  they  too  would  eat,  and  not  until  then.  Indeed, 
among  them  were  some  who  were  not  led  on  by  natural  affec- 
tion only.  The  sweet  voice  of  Joa'hir  Masih'  and  the  eloquent 
appeals  of  Pa'dri  Scott,  which  had  enchanted  them  at  Jhandran' 
some  years  before,  had  not  yet  died  away,  and  the  Spirit  of 
God  was  doubtless  striving  with  some  of  them  at  this  very 
moment.  But  now,  fearing  that  perhaps  they  had  espoused 
the  Christian  cause  by  this  overt  act,  they  became  alarmed, 
and  began  to  feel  as  though  the  Meg  caste  was  going  to  ruin, 
and  began  to  taste,  along  with  their  Christian  relatives,  some- 
thing of  the  bitterness  of  excommunication. 

La'do,  the  leading  spirit  of  her  party,  though  having  less 
of  gospel  light  than  some  of  the  others,  thought  matters  were 
becoming  desperate  indeed.  Calling  Bhaj'na  and  Kana'ya  and 
their  near  relatives  into  the  bride's  house  next  door,  she  gave 
herself  over  to  unrestrained  weeping.  As  soon  as  she  had  re- 
covered sufficiently  her  self-possession,  she  began  with  the  elo- 
quence of  an  aggrieved  and  broken-hearted  mother  to  ex- 
postulate with  her  son-in-law — "  Oh,  my  son,  why  do  you 
bring  this  reproach  upon  us?  Why  do  you  thus  dishonor 
us?  Behold,  we  are  now  become  as  outcasts  and  infidels. 
You  have  embraced  a  religion  which  separates  father  and  son, 
mother  and  daughter,  husband  and  wife,  and  sunders  all  the 
sweet  ties  of  love  and  friendship.  What  profit  have  you  found 
in  such  a  religion  ?  Better,  far  better,  had  it  been  if  you  had 
died  with  your  brother  Pi'po,  for  then  we  could  have  borne 
your  loss  with  resignation,  as  we  have  borne  his.  But  now, 
living,  you  load  us  with  an  infamy  that  is  insupportable.  To 
endure  it  and  live  is  impossible.     Death  only  can  end  it." 

Never  before  had  Bhaj'na's  soul  been  so  powerfully  swayed 
as  it  now  was  by  the  loving  words  and  tender  appeals  of  La'do. 
It  was  as  though  some  mighty  forces  of  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness had  combined  to  overcome  him,  and  compel  him  to  re- 
cant.    The  wily  tempter,  like  an  angel  of  light  in  the  person 


244  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

of  the  weeping  and  affectionate  La'do,  seemed  almost  to  move 
his  very  lips  to  comply  with  her  wishes,  whether  he  would  or 
not,  until  remembering  Jesus,  he  rallied ;  then  suddenly  ob- 
taining the  victory,  as  it  were,  over  a  deadly  and  almost  vic- 
torious foe,  he  burst  forth  passionately  with  a  renewed  and 
vehement  declaration  of  his  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus. 

While  these  things  were  transpiring  in  the  privacy  of  the 
bride's  house,  Ru'ra  was  inciting  his  party  to  resort  to  renewed 
acts  of  violence,  and  putting  forth  his  utmost  exertions  to 
work  his  followers  up  to  this  point,  with  full  intent  to  shut 
Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na  in  the  room  where  they  then  were,  and 
beat  them  until  they  should  recant.  When  La'do  and  her 
party  were  apprised  of  Ru'ra's  wicked  intentions,  they  held  a 
hasty  consultation  with  some  sympathizing  friends  from  Salo- 
wal',  and  by  their  advice  carried  off  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na  to 
that  village.  Ru'ra  collected  a  mob  and  pursued  them.  The 
refugees  entered  the  house  of  one  whom  we  may  call  Bhaj'na's 
first  mother-in-law — the  mother  of  his  deceased  infant  bride, 
of  whom  mention  has  already  been  made.  The  old  mother 
was  a  wise  and  resolute  woman,  and  Bulan'di,  her  stalwart 
son,  was  worthy  of  such  a  mother. 

New  converts  seldom  enjoy  a  moment's  peace,  and  here  too, 
immediately  upon  their  arrival,  an  animated  discussion  began; 
for  whilst  many  of  their  friends  stood  ready  to  shield  them 
from  violence,  yet  all  with  one  accord  most  ardently  desired 
our  two  friends  to  renounce  Christianity,  which  was  costing 
them  so  dearly,  and  even  imperiling  their  very  lives.  Some 
argued  with  them,  some  abused  them,  and  others  wept ;  whilst  a 
few  imputed  to  them  sordid  and  selfish  motives  for  becoming 
Christians.  They,  on  the  other  hand,  endeavored  to  answer 
their  opponents  from  the  Scriptures  with  meekness  and  love. 

Scarcely  had  these  discussions  been  fairly  begun  in  this 
place  of  refuge,  when  Ru'ra  and  his  mob  were  at  the  door. 
A  number  of  those  who  belonged  to  La'do's  moderate  party 
went  out  to  meet  them,  leaving  Bhaj'na  and  Kana'ya  sitting 
by  themselves  on  the  floor  near  one  end  of  the  room,  a  very 


AMONG   WOLVES,  245 

long  one,  with  the  New  Testament  and  Pilgrim's  Progress 
before  them,  which  were  their  constant  companions  and  only 
weapons.  From  the  place  where  they  sat  they  could  not 
gather  much  from  the  noisy  and  confused  conversation  of  the 
two  parties  outside;  but  from  the  little  which  they  overheard, 
they  discovered  that  there  was  something  up,  about  which  the 
two  parties  were  divided  and  in  a  state  of  intense  excitement. 
Just  enough  was  heard  to  rouse  their  suspicion  that  some  seri- 
ous mischief  was  brewing  for  themselves.  Presently  the  con- 
tending parties  rushed  tumultuously  into  the  far  end  of  the 
long  room  in  which  our  two  converts  were  seated,  the  door 
being  locked  behind  them.  Ru'ra,  himself  highly  enraged, 
exerted  his  utmost  to  incite  the  others  and  to  secure  the  unan- 
imous consent  of  all  to  the  murderous  proceedings  which  he 
was  eager  to  begin,  his  deliberate  purpose  being  to  beat  the 
converts  to  death  if  they  would  not  recant.  Before  he  could 
do  this  without  danger  of  detection  the  cooperation,  in  some 
form,  of  all  was  necessary.  By  his  impetuous  zeal  and  the 
commanding  influence  of  his  official  position,  he  had  succeeded 
in  intimidatmg  La'do's  party,  and  in  getting  all  his  prelimin- 
ary arrangements  nearly  completed,  when,  as  a  lull  precedes  a 
storm,  the  noise  and  turmoil  of  the  mob  ceased. 

Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na,  still  seated  apart  from  the  crowd,  are 
by  this  time  fully  aware  of  Ru'ra's  intentions.  They  know 
full  well  that  men  in  the  heat  of  passion  disregard  consequen- 
ces, and  that  influential  men  in  Ru'ra's  position  sometimes  ac- 
tually commit  murder,  and  are  enabled  to  conceal  the  crime 
by  intimidating  those  who  witness  it ;  and  the  harmless  fol- 
lowers of  the  meek  and  lowly  One  sit  trembling  like  kids  in 
a  den  of  wild  beasts. 

•'  Their  cruel  foes  around  them  throng, 
Like  bulls  of  Bashan,  fierce  and  strong ; 
Which  open  wide  their  mouths  to  slay, 
Like  lions  roaring  on  their  prey." 

"  Their  anger  burns  very  fiercely,"  said  Kana'ya  to  his  com- 
panion in  an  undertone,  "  and  it  seems  that  we  are  entirely  in 
their  power;  very  likely  they  will  murder  us." 


246  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

The  youthful  Bhaj'na  trembled,  and  said,  "My  brother, 
what  shall  we  do  ?  " 

"  We  will  pray,"  said  Kana'ya.  So  they  knelt  down,  and 
the  elder  prayed  in  a  voice  which  was  audible  to  his  compan- 
panion,  but  not  to  the  lawless  crowd :  "  O  Lord,  if  it  be  thy 
good  pleasure,  deliver  us  from  the  paw  of  the  lion ;  but  if  this 
be  not  thy  will,  call  us  now  to  thyself.     Amen." 

And  now  overhearing  some  of  the  crowd  saying,  "  Beat  them 
until  they  give  up  this  religion,"  they  said  one  to  another: 
"  No,  we  cannot  give  up  this  religion,  for  we  have  no  desire  for 
any  other." 

Then  one  of  them  remembered  the  pilgrim  "Faithful"  and 
his  happy  end,  and  said  :  "  If  Jesus  calls  us  to  himself,  we  shall 
just  now  realize  that  happiness  which  we  have  been  seeking, 
*  Many  that  are  first  shall  be  last,  and  the  last  first.'  Perhaps 
we  shall  be  among  the  favored  ones  who  shall  go  first  to  him." 

Whilst  these  faithful  Christians  were  thus  confiding  to  the 
Lord's  keeping  all  that  they  held  most  precious,  and  sweetly 
resigning  themselves  to  his  will,  suddenly  a  voice  in  the  far 
end  of  the  long  room — the  voice  of  a  brave  and  resolute 
woman — was  heard  vehemently  declaring:  '' SiicJi  a  wicked 
deed  shall  not  be  done  in  my  house  ;  not  a  Jiand  shall  be  laid  on 
these  lads."  And  turning  to  Ru'ra,  she  continued:  "Are  you 
not  afraid  of  the  English  Government  ? 

Ru'ra,  now  fully  prepared  to  begin  his  cruel  work,  was  not 
a  man  to  brook  contradiction.  Rushing  upon  the  speaker, 
Bulan'di's  mother,  and  seizing  her  with  his  brawny  hands  as 
though  he  would  choke  her  to  death,  he  demanded  in  a  voice 
that  trembled  with  passion,  "  Yoic  will  not  let  us  do  it?  Hold 
your  tongue!  What  have  yon  to  do  with  the  Government? 
And  what  do  /  care  for  the  Government  ?  If  you  say  another 
word  we  will  count  you  also  as  *  one  of  them/'" 

On  the  instant  Bulan'd'i's  anger  was  all  ablaze,  and  regard- 
less of  Ru'ra's  age  and  official  position,  he  sprang  upon  him 
shouting  defiantly,  "  Dare  you  lay  hajids  on  my  mother?" 

The  noisy  clamor  of  the  contending  parties  now  became 


AMONG   WOLVES.  247 

deafening;  the  lights  were  extinguished,  and  the  door  from 
some  unknown  cause  was  thrown  wide  open.  Kana'ya,  seeing 
the  two  parties  hotly  engaged,  and  noticing  the  open  door, 
called  to  mind  how  Jesus,  when  thrust  out  of  Nazareth  by  the 
mob  which  led  him  to  the  brow  of  the  hill  to  cast  him  down 
headlong,  "passing  through  the  midst  of  them  went  his  way;" 
and  rapidly  whispered  into  Bhaj'na's  ear:  " See,  brother,  the 
Lord  has  opened  the  way  for  us."  Then  passing  out  un- 
noticed, they  were  soon  hid  in  the  midnight  darkness;  and 
sometime  during  the  latter  part  of  the  night  they  reached  the 
tent  of  Brother  Scott  at  Zafarwal'. 

Tears  flowed  freely  as  the  two  refugees  told  of  their  immi- 
nent danger  and  wonderful  escape.  Brother  Scott  was  greatly 
troubled  that  he  had  left  them  alone,  and  feelingly  exclaimed 
to  the  weeping  brethren,  "  While  you  shed  tears  of  water,  I 
weep  tears  of  blood."  And  as  they  all  talked  and  prayed  and 
feasted  on  the  precious  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  brought  to 
mind  by  the  experiences  through  which  he  was  making  them 
to  pass,  the  morning  dawned — 

"  Blest  be  the  Lord ;  let  praise  be  given, 
That  we  escaped  from  death  so  nigh ; 
As  when  the  fowler's  snare  is  riven. 
The  bird  escaping  soars  on  high. 

"  The  snare  is  rent,  and  we  are  free, 
Our  grateful  souls  to  God  arise ; 
For  all  our  help  has  come  from  Thee, 
Great  maker  of  the  earth  and  skies." 

When  a  man  is  banished  by  the  English  Government  to  the 
Andaman  Islands,  the  natives'say,  "  He  is  sent  to  Kd'ld Pii'n'i" 
And  to  be  sent  to  Kd'ld  Pd'n'i  is  a  punishment  which  they 
dread  more  than  even  death  itself  Many  of  the  relatives  of 
Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na  verily  believed  that  the  forsaking  of  caste- 
and  heathenism  for  Christ,  would,  in  some  way  result  in  the 
converts  being  sent  to  Kd'ld  Pd'n'i.  Mr.  Scott  justly  deemed 
it  a  matter  of  vital  importance  to  the  Christian  cause  that  this- 
prejudice  should  if  possible  be  overcome;  he  therefore  earn- 


248  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

estly  desired  these  first  two  converts  of  that  neighborhood  to 
settle  down  in  the  midst  of  their  own  people.  Could  this  only 
be  accomplished,  he  believed  that  by  their  holy  lives  many  of 
their  simple-minded  neighbors  would  be  won  over  to  Christ. 
Ha'san  Khan's  offer  of  eleven  acres  of  land  within  half  a  mile 
of  Zafarwal',  within  a  mile  of  Na'ya  Find,  and  within  three  or 
four  miles  of  Jhandran',  opened  the  way  for  the  nucleus  of  a 
Christian  settlement.  The  land,  it  is  true,  was  barren,  and  so 
badly  "infested  with  witches,"  that  the  people  of  Zafarwal' 
were  afraid  to  pass  through  it;  but  these  difficulties  would 
soon  vanish  before  Christian  faith  and  industry,  and  Mr.  Scott 
prolonged  his  stay  in  Zafarwal'  until  he  had  secured  this  piece 
of  land.  Henceforward  this  eleven-acre  lot  was  the  place 
where  he  and  other  missionaries  pitched  their  tents  whenever 
they  visited  that  section  of  the  mission  field.  From  that  time 
forward  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na  made  it  their  permanent  place 
of  abode,  and  it  became  a  spot  where  Christian  fugitives  could 
find  rest  for  the  soles  of  their  feet. 

As  this  little  Christian  settlement  will  find  a  place  in  the 
remainder  of  our  narrative,  and  as  much  inconvenience  arises 
from  speaking  of  a  place  that  has  no  name,  I  will  venture  to 
name  it,  Scott  Garh.  Garh,  means  Castle,  and  is  much  used 
as  a  termination  of  the  names  of  towns  in  India.  The  English 
reader  will  of  course  Anglicize  it  by  dropping  the  final  h,  or 
if  he  choose  he  may  call  it  Scott  Castle. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE    UNSUCCESSFUL   SUITORS. 

THE  GOSPEL  PUBLISHED  AT  A  WEDDING — MY  OWN  GULA'BI  OR  NONE — 
KANA'YA  and  family  separated — A  VISIT  TO  GULA^Bl'S  VILLAGE — 
THE  UNGRACIOUS  FATHER-IN-LAW — "WE  ACKNOWLEDGE  NO  RELATION- 
SHIP "-^KEEP  YOUR  GOD  TO  YOURSELF — BHA/nA  ENCOURAGED  TO 
VISIT  HIS  bride's  home — GRIM  SILENCE,  SALUTATION  NOT  ACKNOWL- 
EDGED— "thrust  him  out!" — "I  CAME  TO  TALK  TO  MY  WIFE" — 
"ONLY  SAY  '  I  AM  NOT  A  CHRISTIAN,'  AND  TAKE  GULA^BI  WITH  YOU" — 
"I  CANNOT  DENY  THE  LORD  JESUS " — CAST  OUT — TWENTY-FIVE  MEN 
LEAGUED  SECRETLY  AGAINST  KANA^YA — "  WE  HAVE  CAUGHT  YOU" — 
BETTER  NOT  TO  FIGHT — ENEMIES  HELD  AT  BAY — "DO  NOT  WANT  YOU 
here" — DISTRESSING  RUMOR  ABOUT  KANA^YA'S  FAMILY — INTERVIEW 
WITH  RAMDE^I  ON  THE  PLAIN  AT  MIDNIGHT — THE  BABE  MIGHT  AWAKE 
— IF  HE  MUST  BE  A  CHRISTIAN  LET  HIM  KEEP  IT  TO  HIMSELF — COME 
YOU  AND  JOIN  HIM — IMPOSSIBLE  TO  FORSAKE  ALL  THESE  FOR  CHRIST 
— RAMDE^I  DEEPLY  DISTRESSED. 

THE  expedition  of  Mr.  Scott  and  his  brethren  to  Ba'jo-ka- 
chak  was  in  one  respect  a  success,  affording  them  a  good 
opportunity  to  witness  for  Christ.  The  concourse  of  wedding 
guests  was  large ;  excitement  was  intense,  and  the  two  young 
disciples  stood  firm  under  the  severe  tests  to  which  they  were 
subjected.  All  that  transpired  there  would  afterwards  be 
talked  of  in  hundreds  of  Meg  households,  and  many  would  at 
least  be  led  to  ask  who  Jesus  Christ  is,  and  wherein  the  secret 
of  his  attractive  power  lies. 

But  in  another  respect  this  expedition  was  an  entire  failure, 
since  Bhaj'na  did  not  succeed  in  bringing  home  his  wife.  He 
saw  her  there  in  the  crowd,  and  she  saw  him;  but  they  were 
jealously  watched,  and  through  the  untiring  vigilance  of  their 
relatives,  were  not  permitted  even  so  much  as  to  speak  to  each 
other. 

After  this  failure  to  secure  Gula'b'i,  the  disappointed  Bhaj'na 

(249) 


250  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

was  advised  by  some  to  forsake  her  and  seek  another  partner; 
but  he  repHed,  "  No,  it  must  be  my  own  Gula'b'i  or  none — she 
loves  me  and  has  pledged  her  word  that  wherever  I  go  there 
will  she  go  with  me;  this  I  am  sure  she  spoke  for  herself,  from 
her  own  heart.  She  is  mine — a  part  of  my  very  self;  and  now 
that  she  is  in  the  power  and  under  the  control  of  others,  I  will 
patiently  bide  my  time,  until  by  persuasion,  or,  if  necessary,  by 
law  or  even  by  force,  the  way  is  opened  for  me  to  obtain  pos- 
session of  her  who  is  mine  by  right." 

Kana'ya  was  an  ardent  lover  of  home.  He  dearly  loved  his 
own  excellent  wife,  Ramde'i,  and  his  five  little  children,  and 
many  a  longing  look  did  he  cast  toward  Na'ya  Find,  where 
they  lived.  Could  she  have  been  only  persuaded  to  come, 
with  the  children,  and  live  in  Scott  Garh,  he  would  have  been 
a  very  happy  man  indeed ;  but  she  was  firm  in  her  unbelief, 
and  even  indulged  the  hope  that  her  husband  would  some  day 
return  to  the  religion  of  his  fathers.  He  would  gladly  have 
tried  to  persuade  her,  but  the  men  of  Na'ya  Find  were  con- 
stantly on  the  watch,  determined  to  prevent  him  from  having 
any  communication  whatever  with  her.  He  yearned  for  his 
children  that  he  might  teach  them  God's  word,  pray  with  them, 
and  lead  them  to  the  Saviour;  but  they  were  not  allowed  to 
visit  him,  nor  even  to  see  him ;  nor  was  he  permitted  to  see 
them.  On  the  contrary,  all  diligence  was  used  by  the  villagers 
to  make  them  dread  their  father  as  an  enemy  who  would  "  be- 
witch "  them,  and  to  alienate  their  hearts  from  him  in  every 
possible  way.  But  this  one  thing  Kana'ya  knew  full  well. — 
Notwithstanding  the  gulf  between  his  own  religious  views  and 
those  of  Ramde'i,  she  was  in  heart  true  to  Jiim;  indeed  so 
unhappy  was  she  at  their  separation,  that  she  scarcely  ever 
spoke  to  any  one,  but  grieved,  and  mourned,  and  wept,  and 
even  refused  to  eat.  And  now,  since  Scott  Garh  had  afforded 
the  two  converts  a  place  of  refuge  in  which  they  might  enjoy 
a  degree  of  comparative  respite  from  persecution,  Ramde'i 
and  the  children,  and  Gula'b'i,  were  first  and  uppermost  in  their 
minds. 


THE   UNSUCCESSFUL   SUITORS.  25  I 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Brother  Scott  that  Bhaj'na  should 
make  one  more  determined  effort  to  seek  his  wife  and  bring 
her  home  from  Ba'riyan.  The  obstacles  in  his  way  were  very 
great.  Gula'b'i  was  not  yet  above  sixteen — an  age  at  which 
the  average  girl  of  India  lives  in  servile  bondage  to  her  sur- 
roundings, and  is  not  expected  to  rise  above  the  bigotry  of 
parents  and  relatives,  and  act  independently  of  them.  Could 
Gula'b'i  only  have  been  separated  from  her  heathen  home  for 
a  short  season,  and  brought  under  the  influence  of  her  Chris- 
tian husband,  the  difficulty  would  speedily  have  come  to  an  end. 
But  Bhaj'na  could  not  lawfully  enter  her  father's  house  to  take 
her  away  by  force ;  he  could  make  use  of  moral  suasion  only. 

In  the  month  of  April,  1867,  Mr.  Scott,  with  a  view  to  effect 
the  union  of  this  young  couple,  set  out  for  Bari'yan,  accom- 
panied by  Bhaj'na,  Kana'ya,  John  Clement,  and  three  others, 
one  of  whom  was  his  own  faithful  servant,  Kau'de  Shah,  who, 
though  a  Muhammadan,  was  personally  attached  to  his  em- 
ployer, and  in  sympathy  with  his  great  work.  It  was  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  they  arrived  at  Ba'riyan  and 
stopped  in  the  dharjnsd'ld  (travelers'  rest-house),  about  two 
hundred  yards  from  the  village.  On  the  common,  lying  be- 
tween them  and  the  village,  a  man  with  a  large  spool  of  cot- 
ton-yarn in  each  hand  was  walking  to  and  fro  along  side  of  an 
extended  row  of  smooth  upright  rods,  which  had  been  driven 
into  the  ground,  and  was  passing  the  yarn  from  the  spools  to 
the  rods,  preparing  in  the  customary  way  the  warp  of  a  web 
for  his  loom.  It  was  Lak'hu,  the  father  of  Gula'b'i,  and  well 
he  knew  who  those  strangers  were  at  the  dharmsd' la  ;  but  he 
appeared  to  be  thinking  only  of  his  warp,  and  continued  to 
work  away  without  even  raising  his  eyes.  Mr.  Scott  taking 
Bhaj'na  with  him,  drew  near  and  saluted  the  busy  man  re- 
spectfully, receiving  only  a  cool  and  indifferent  response. 

Scott,  observing  that  Lak'hu  directed  his  words  only  to 
himself,  taking  no  notice  whatever  of  his  son-in-law  Bhaj'na, 
remarked  to  the  austere  father-in-law  :  "  Do  you  not  see  this 
youth,  who  is  one  of  your  own  family?" 


252  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

"  No,"  replied  Lak'hu  ungraciously,  without  condescending 
so  much  as  to  take  his  eyes  off  his  work.  "  If  he  had  been  one 
of  us  he  would  have  obeyed  our  wishes  at  Ba'jo-ka-chak,  but  he 
heeded  not  a  single  word,  and  has  deliberately  embraced  infi- 
delity; for  this  reason  we  now  acknowledge  no  relationship 
with  him.  Besides,  if  he  had  any  love  for  us,  he  would  come 
to  my  house  alone,  and  not  with  you." 

"  My  father,"  said  Mr.  Scott,  respectfully,  "  he  has  not  em- 
braced infidelity;  instead  of  this  he  has  chosen  to  obey  the 
true  God,  and  to  believe  on  his  Saviour,  in  whose  presence  we 
must  all  one  day  stand." 

"  Keep  your  God  to  yourself,"  replied  Lak'hu  sullenly. 
"  We  wish  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  such  a  God.  We  will 
obey  our  own  god;  and  we  regard  not  such  infidels  as  you, 
who  go  about  causing  every  one  to  err." 

"Nay,  my  father,"  said  Scott,  "we  have  not  caused  them  to 
err;  but  on  the  contrary,  they  now  believe  in  the  only  true 
God.  You  can  see  for  yourself  how  much  more  tender- 
hearted they  are  now  than  before." 

Here  Lak'hu  remained  silent.  After  a  brief  pause  in  the 
conversation,  Bhaj'na,  timidly  and  most  respectfully  began: 
"  Uncle,"  said  he,  using  this  appellation  as  a  term  of  respect, 
"by  me  no  fault  has  been  committed  against  any  of  you,  that 
you  should  all  be  so  angered  with  me.  I  desire  to  live  with 
you  and  am  willing  to  serve  you  with  every  kind  of  service, 
as  it  is  fitting  and  proper  that  I  should  do." 

"  If  that  be  so,"  said  Lak'hu,  "  why  do  you  forsake  father 
and  mother  and  follow  after  these?"  (referring  to  Mr.  Scott  and 
other  Christian  teachers),  "  I  can  acknowledge  no  relationship 
with  you  as  long  as  you  pursue  such  an  evil  course.  15ut 
even  now,  if  you  repent  and  turn  from  your  Christian  faith,  we 
will  receive  you  gladly." 

"Never!  Uncle,"  exclaimed  Bhaj'na,  "never  can  I  give  up 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  and  return  to  your  faith.  But  if 
you  will  all  believe  in  him  you  will  be  saved;  for  there  is  no 
other  in  the  whole  world  who  can  give  salvation."  > 


THE    UNSUCCESSFUL   SUITORS.  253 

Lak'hu  again  remained  silent,  and  continued  his  work.  A 
group  of  villagers  by  this  time  stood  listening,  but  had  not 
the  courage  to  open  their  mouths  in  controversy  with  Pa'dri 
Scott,  who,  not  caring  to  address  them  on  this  particular  occa- 
sion, courteously  made  his  saldm'  to  Lak'hu  and  quietly  re- 
tired with  Bhaj'na  to  the  village  rest-house. 

After  supper  that  evening,  Mr,  Scott  proposed  that  Bhaj'na 
should  go  to  his  father-in-law's  house  alone.  "  There  would 
in  this  way,"  he  said,  "  be  more  freedom  than  if  others  were 
present;  and,  besides,"  he  smilingly  added,  "who  knows  but 
Bhaj^na  may  find  an  opportunity  of  having  a  talk  with 
Gula'bi  ?  " 

Bhaj'na  was  timid  and  backward,  as  modest  young  men 
are  on  such  occasions,  even  when  circumstances  are  favorable. 
But  the  opposition  of  the  family  greatly  added  to  his  embar- 
rassment, and  besides,  he  feared  that  he  might  receive  a  sound 
beating  if  he  should  enter  Lak'hu's  house  all  alone.  On  the 
other  hand,  he  had  grown  to  be  more  and  more  decidedly  of 
the  opinion  that  his  Gula'bi  was  truly  beautiful,  her  very 
name,  which  means  rose-colored,  breathing  sweet  perfume; 
and  when  Kana'ya  had  agreed  to  go  with  him  as  far  as  the 
threshold  of  Gula'bi's  home,  and  Scott  had  charged  him  to  be- 
ware and  answer  meekly,  he  made  the  venture. 

Entering  the  court,  which  may  be  described  as  a  yard  en- 
closed by  a  high-wall,  he  at  once  found  himself  face  to  face 
with  all  the  members  of  the  household;  for  the  court  is  in  the 
East  the  general  living-room  of  the  whole  family.  As  no  one 
gave  him  the  slightest  intimation  of  a  welcome,  he  made  a 
courteous  salutation  to  all  collectively,  to  which  no  one  re- 
sponded. He  was  of  course  not  offered  a  seat,  but  seeing  a 
vacant  one  he  helped  himself 

After  a  period  of  grim  and  painful  silence,  our  trembling 
young  suitor  was  greeted  with  a  volley  of  vile  abuse  by  Lak'- 
hu's  sister:  "O  thou  vile  creature!  thou  hast  blackened  the 
faces  of  thy  ancestors  with  dishonor.  What  business  hast 
thou  here?     Who  sent  thee  hither?" 


254  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Then  a  neighbor,  standing  upon  the  low  flat-roof,  looking 
down  into  the  court,  called  out  to  Lak'hu,  "  Why  do  you  suf- 
fer him  to  enter  your  court?  Thrust  him  out."  Thereupon 
Lak'hu  commanded  him  to  rise  and  begone. 

Bhaj'na  meekly  remonstrated,  "My  Uncle,"  said  he,  "I 
have  a  word  to  say  :  have  the  kindness,  please,  to  listen  to  me. 
No  evil  have  I  done  to  any  of  you,  and  why  do  you  so  revile 
me  ?     I  have  come  only  to  have  a  talk  with  my  wife." 

Some  of  them,  knowing  Bhaj'na's  attachment  to  Gula'bi, 
and  thinking  that  they  could  persuade  him,  now  that  they  had 
him  entirely  alone,  began  to  say  :  "  Hear  now  our  words,  and 
we  will  ask  one  thing  of  you:  we  ask  you  not  to  go  on  pil- 
grimage, nor  yet  to  journey  two  hundred  cos  to  bathe  in  the 
Ganges,  neither  to  pay  a  fine,  nor  to  make  a  feast  for  all  your 
relations  ;  we  beg  this  one  thing  only :  say,  '  I  am  a  Jidali' — 
not  a  Christian.'  " 

To  this  Bhaj'na  answered  stoutly,  "Willing  am  I  to  dwell 
among  you,  willing  to  do  the  work  of  a  Julah' ,  willing  and 
ready  to  do  any  kind  of  work  which  you  may  please  to  require 
of  me,  but  a  Christian  I  am,  and  a  Christian  will  I  remain." 

Then  the  tender  and  affectionate  La'do,  at  whose  side  stood 
her  blushing  daughter  Gula'b'i,  took  a  rope,  and  making  a 
noose  in  which  she  placed  her  own  neck,  fell  prostrate  before 
Bhaj'na,  an  act  than  which  there  is  no  other  more  expressive 
among  these  people  of  the  deepest  humiliation,  fitting  only  for 
a  condemned  slave  suing  for  his  worthless  life,  and  represent- 
ing in  the  present  instance  an  appeal  of  touching  pathos.  Ly- 
ing prostrate  at  the  feet  of  him  who  loved  her  more  affection- 
ately than  he  loved  even  his  own  mother,  she  plead  in  broken 
accents : 

"Oh,  my  son,  my  son  Bhaj'na!  My  honor,  your  father's 
honor,  and  your  mother's — consider  these!  Heed  my  words. 
Only  say,  '  I  am  not  a  Christian,'  then  take  my  Gula'b'i  and 
dwell  happily  among  us,  and  we  will  love  you — love  you  more 
dearly  than  ever  before." 

The  effect  of  this  humiliating  act  and  touching  entreaty  on 


THE    UNSUCCESSFUL   SUITORS.  255 

the  part  of  La'do  upon  Bhaj'na's  susceptible  nature  was  over- 
whelming, and  his  determined  effort  to  resist  the  temptation 
brings  forcibly  to  mind  our  Lord's  answer  to  loving  Peter, 
"Get  thee  behind  me,  Satan."  With  firm  determination  he 
answered :  "  Ao;-ar  mere  sir  ko  k'dt  dale,  to  is  bat  se  biJitar  hai\ 
main  Khuda'wand  Yisu  Mas'ih'  ka  ink'dr  kar  naJiin  sakt'd  hrin, 
JO  dsmdn'  aur  Zam'in'  kd  KJmdd'wand  hair  (Rather  would  I 
that  you  should  cut  off  my  head  than  that  I  should  do  what 
you  ask;  I  cannot  deny  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  is  Lord 
of  heaven  and  of  earth.). 

A  score  or  more  of  the  neighbors  had  by  this  time  as- 
sembled in  the  court,  and  seeing  that  Bhaj'na  yielded  not  to 
La'do's  entreaties,  they  first  muttered  expressions  of  disgust, 
and  then  burst  forth  into  uncontrollable  anger.  A  portion  of 
them  rushing  upon  him  thrust  him  out  of  the  court.  Without 
having  been  able  to  speak  a  single  word  to  his  wife,  he  re- 
turned baffled  to  the  brethren  in  the  rest-house,  and  accom- 
panied by  them,  soon  after  returned  to  Scott  Castle,  at  the 
south  side  of  Zafarvval',  where  we  leave  him  while  we  turn  to 
his  friend  Kana'ya. 

Kana'ya  well  knew  that  there  was  a  strong  opposition  in 
Na'ya  Find  to  his  meeting  his  wife  Ramde'i  or  his  children, 
lest  he  should  convert  them  to  the  Christian  religion;  but  he 
was  not  aware  that  twenty-five  men  of  the  village  had  secretly 
conspired  to  kidnap  him,  and  that  two  men  were  detailed 
every  night  to  lie  in  wait  for  him.  One  night  between  ten 
o'clock  and  midnight  he  went  stealthily  over  to  see  whether 
he  could  have  a  talk  with  his  wife.  Shab'bu,  a  young  man  be- 
longing to  Na'ya  Find,  had  once  entertained  the  intention  of 
coming  out  and  embracing  the  Christian  faith  with  Kana'ya 
and  Bhaj'na,  but  seeing  the  trouble  which  it  would  cost,  had 
given  it  up.  This  youth,  who  secretly  loved  Kana'ya,  was 
one  of  the  two  who  were  detailed  to  watch  for  him  that  night. 
Seeing  Kana'ya  approaching  the  village,  he  took  him  aside 
and  quietly  said:  "Do  you  not  know,  Kana'ya,  that  they  are 
watching  for  you   in  Na'ya  Find  ?     There  is  a  strong  feeling 


256  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

against  you  here,  and  they  have  agreed  that  if  you  come  here 
they  will  seize  you  by  force,  take  you  before  a  magistrate, 
charge  you  with  theft,  and  hire  false  witnesses  to  prove  it 
against  you."  Ma'gana,  the  youth  who  we  may  remember 
started  out  on  the  pilgrimage  with  Bhaj'na,  overhearing  this 
conversation  between  Kana'ya  and  Shab'bu,  hurried  away  to 
act  as  informer,  and  ere  Shab'bu  had  done  speaking,  two  mem- 
bers of  the  hostile  band,  rushing  up  to  Kana'ya,  one  on  each 
side,  seized  him,  and  exultingly  exclaimed,  "  We  have  caught 
you;  what  will  you  do  now?" 

Kana'ya,  though  by  no  means  a  large  man,  was,  whenever 
fairly  roused,  nervously  powerful,  and  all  the  more  so  when 
consciously  in  the  right.  Making  a  strenuous  effort,  he  freed 
himself  from  his  assailants,  and  sent  them  sprawling  upon  the 
ground,  with  nothing  but  a  fragment  of  his  clothing  in  their 
hands.  Others  of  the  secret  band  were  hurrying  to  the  spot 
Kana'ya  had  grit  enough  to  believe  himself  fully  able  to  with- 
stand an  encounter,  but  being  a  Christian,  he  thought  it  better 
not  to  fight,  and  standing  his  ground,  said  boldly:  "Take 
heed  now  what  you  do !  Do  you  not  know  that  whoever  dares 
to  lay  hands  on  me  will  be  fined  two  hundred  rupees  by  the 
Government?" 

This  timely  reminder  quickened  the  memory  and  cooled  the 
ardor  of  his  lawless  assailants,  who,  folding  their  hands  in  a 
deprecating  manner,  said:  "This  is  all  true,  but  we  don't  want 
you  to  come  here;  if  you  do,  our  people  will  not  be  restrained, 
and  your  blood  will  be  upon  your  own  head." 

When  Kana'ya  returned  to  Scott  garh  and  told  what  had 
happened,  it  was  deemed  by  his  Christian  friends  unadvisable 
for  him  to  venture  over  to  Na'ya  Find  any  more. 

Ten  or  fifteen  days  later,  a  rumor  reached  Scott  garh  that 
the  people  of  Na'ya  Find  were  plotting  to  convey  Ramde'i  and 
the  children  away  to  some  unknown  place.  Should  they  suc- 
ceed in  doing  this,  it  would  destroy  the  little  hope  that  re- 
mained, and  Kana'ya's  heart  and  home  would  be  left  hope- 
lessly desolate;  one  more  effort  must  therefore  be  made  to 


THE   UNSUCCESSFUL   SUITORS.  257 

have  an  interview  with  Ramde'i,  in  order  to  try  the  power  of 
persuasion.  If  she  could  not  be  persuaded  to  be  a  Christian, 
perhaps  she  might  be  prevailed  upon  to  come  and  hve  with 
her  husband  at  Scott  garh.  Mr,  Scott  felt  confidence  in  her 
integrity.  If  he  could  only  have  a  talk  with  her,  and  get  her  to 
promise,  he  and  all  the  rest  at  Scott  garh  confidently  believed 
that  she  would  never  break  her  word.  But  it  would  be  impru- 
dent for  him  to  venture  into  Na'ya  Find,  and  no  less  so  for  Ka- 
na'ya;  and  how  could  the  desired  interview  be  brought  about? 

Bhaj'na  enjoyed  a  degree  of  liberty  in  Na'ya  Find  which 
was  forbidden  to  the  others.  The  people  there  were  afraid  of 
Kana'ya's  influence,  dreading  lest  after  possibly  winning  over 
his  own  wife  and  children,  he  might  then  carry  with  him  his 
extensive  circle  of  friends  and  relatives.  They  also  no  less 
dreaded  the  influence  of  Mr.  Scott;  hence  their  watchful  care 
to  keep  both  of  these  men  out  of  their  village.  But  they  were 
not  afraid  of  Bhaj'na.  His  wife  was  not  there.  His  parents, 
though  living  there,  were  too  old  to  be  drawn  after  him.  He 
was  scarcely  above  the  age  of  boyhood,  and  was  backward, 
and  not  being  regarded  by  the  people  of  his  village  as  a  dan- 
gerous character,  he  enjoyed  a  fair  degree  of  freedom  to  go 
and  come.  He  therefore,  after  being  well  instructed  by  Mr. 
Scott  to  keep  his  business  strictly  to  himself,  and  to  be  brave, 
addressed  himself  to  the  difficult  task  of  securing  the  desired 
interview. 

One  starless  night,  at  an  hour  when  "slumber's  chain"  had 
bound  fast  the  enemies  of  our  little  flock,  Bhaj'na  silently 
escorted  Ramde'i  out  of  Na'ya  Find,  and  across  the  plain  to- 
ward Scott  garh.  Halting  about  a  furlong  from  the  last  men- 
tioned place,  he  gave  a  signal  which  brought  Mr.  Scott  and 
Kana'ya  promptly  to  the  spot. 

Mr.  Scott  addressed  Ramde'i  in  these  words :  "  My  sister, 
come  over,  I  beseech  you,  to  us!  How  often  have  I  gone  to 
your  house  weary  and  hungry,  and  have  eaten  bread  at  your 
own  hands !  As  you  have  fed  us  material  bread,  so  our  Lord 
will,  according  to  his  word,  satisfy  your  soul  with  spiritual 
17 


258  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

bread.  He  forgets  not  even  a  cup  of  cold  water  that  you  have 
given  to  his  servants.  I  have  always  prayed  the  Lord  that  he 
would  reward  you.  We  all  meet  together  and  pray  for  you, 
and  we  firmly  believe  that  you  will  one  day  be  a  Christian. 
Then  will  you  be  happy,  and  repent  of  your  present  course, 
and  say,  'Oh,  why  did  I  so?'" 

Ramde'i  had  left  her  babe  asleep  in  the  village ;  should  it 
wake  and  cry,  every  one  there  would  at  once  begin  to  inquire 
what  had  become  of  the  mother;  there  would  be  a  commotion 
— in  consequence  of  which  she  could  not  divest  herself  of  ex- 
ceeding nervousness  during  the  entire  interview.  She  spoke 
hurriedly:  "  Let  Kana'ya  come  over  to  us,  and  if  he  must  be 
a  Christian,  let  him  keep  it  to  himself — shut  up  in  his  own 
heart — and  not  speak  of  it  to  others ;  he  can  then  come  to 
Na'ya  Find,  and  we  will  dwell  together  as  in  former  days." 

"This,  Ramde'i,  would  be  impossible,"  said  Scott — Kana'ya 
emphatically  affirming  the  same  thing ;  "  to  do  as  you  wish 
would  be  the  same  as  to  deny  Christ ;  and  by  so  doing  we 
would  prove  ourselves  utterly  unworthy  of  Him.  We  must 
take  up  our  cross  daily  and  follow  Him.  Kana'ya  can  never 
turn  back.  You  must  not  indulge  such  a  hope  Ramde'i,  for 
it  can  never  be  realized;  but  come  over  and  join  him." 

"  My  family  is  large  and  honorable,"  said  Ramde'i,  "  and  I 
am  not  by  any  means  the  least  among  them;  it  is  impossible 
for  me  to  forsake  all  and  everything." 

For  nearly  an  hour  this  fruitless  conversation  continued,  in 
which  Mr.  Scott  and  Kana'ya  did  their  utmost  to  win  over 
Ramde'i  by  gentle  persuasion,  assuring  her  at  the  same  time 
that  Kana'ya  could  never  forsake  Christ  and  turn  back  to  his 
former  heathen  religion. 

The  distressed  woman  felt  the  cruel  separation  more  and 
more  keenly,  but  was  unyielding;  seeing  no  hope  of  influen- 
cing her  husband,  she  sighed  heavily,  as  if  in  despair,  and  ex- 
claimed as  she  turned  away,  "Oh,  God,  what  shall  I  do!" 
Bhaj'na  then  accompanied  her  back  to  her  village,  and  Na'ya 
Find  never  knew  that  she  had  been  absent. 


CHAPTER   XX. 

REINFORCEMENTS — COLONIZING    NATIVE   CHRISTIANS. 

THE  Rev.  Samuel  Martin,  D.  D.,  was  graduated  at  Jefferson 
College,  Canonsburg,  Pa.,  in  the  year  1861,  after  which 
he  spent  one  year  studying  Theology  under  the  care  of  the 
Presbytery  of  Steubenville.  At  this  stage  of  his  preparation 
for  the  Gospel  ministry,  a  call  being  made  for  volunteers  for 
the  United  States  army,  he  enlisted  in  the  90th  Regiment  of 
Ohio  Volunteer  Infantry.  In  the  organization  of  his  regi- 
ment, he  was  chosen  first  lieutenant,  and  was  with  his  regi- 
ment during  General  Bragg's  invasion  of  Kentucky,  and  at  the 
battle  of  Perryville.  During  the  winter  of  1862-63,  his  bri- 
gade was  stationed  chiefly  at  Columbia,  Kentucky,  for  guard 
duty.  Here  he  suffered  from  an  attack  of  typhoid  fever,  and, 
together  with  all  who  were  in  the  hospital,  was  taken  prisoner 
on  the  1st  of  January,  1863,  by  Gen.  Morgan,  of  the  Confed- 
erate army.  Mr.  Martin's  brother,  a  private,  who  had  been 
detached  to  nurse  him,  took  the  same  fever,  and  died ;  whilst 
his  brother  Samuel  recovered,  and  afterwards  remained  for  a 
time  in  parol  camp  at  Columbus,  Ohio. 

Seeing  no  immediate  prospect  of  being  either  exchanged  or 
sent  into  active  service,  Mr.  Martin  resigned  his  position  in  the 
army  in  the  summer  of  1863,  and  resumed  his  theological 
studies  at  our  Allegheny  Seminary,  but  spending  the  third  and 
fourth  years  of  his  theological  course  at  our  Seminary  in 
Xenia,  Ohio ;  after  which  he  was  licensed  in  the  summer  of 
1865,  by  the  Steubenville  Presbytery.  He  was  appointed  to 
the  India  Mission  by  the  General  Assembly,  which  met  in  the 
city  of  Allegheny  in  May,  1866.  On  the  27th  of  the  follow- 
ing September,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Lydia  Lucretia  Moss- 

(259) 


26o  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

man,  after  which  they  proceeded  immediately  to  Philadelphia 
to  embark  for  India. 

Direct  trade  between  the  United  States  and  India,  via  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  having  greatly  fallen  off  during  the 
American  Civil  War,  no  vessel  taking  this  route  was  at  that 
time  available ;  and  it  became  necessary  to  go  first  to  England 
or  Scotland,  and  take  passage  thence  to  India.  From  Great 
Britain  also  the  travel  to  India,  via  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
had,  by  that  time,  almost  ceased,  passengers  universally  pre- 
ferring the  voyage  to  India  via  Egypt  and  the  Red  Sea.  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Martin  desired  to  go  by  the  latter  route,  because  their 
journey  from  England  to  India  could  thus  be  accomplished  in 
about  one  month,  with  a  great  saving  of  precious  time.  But 
this  short  route  was  more  expensive  than  the  other,  and  they 
could  not  avail  themselves  of  it  without  paying  the  extra  ex- 
pense from  their  own  private  resources. 

On  the  27th  of  October,  1866,  they  embarked  in  the  steam- 
ship lozva,  bound  from  New  York  to  Glasgow,  whence  they 
applied,  for  passage  to  India,  to  the  well-known  shipping  firm 
of  George  Smith  &  Sons.  These  friendly  gentlemen,  on  learn- 
ing that  Mr.  Martin  was  a  missionary,  without  even  so  much 
as  requiring  letters  of  introduction,  generously  threw  off  their 
own  share  of  passenger  profit,  which  reduced  the  fare  one- 
third. 

After  some  delay,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  sailed  from  Glasgow 
on  the  27th  of  November,  in  the  ship.  City  of  Brussels,  for  Cal- 
cutta, via  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  The  ship  was  designed 
not  for  passengers,  but  for  freight  only;  and  Mrs.  Martin  was 
the  only  lady  on  board,  which  afforded  her  a  very  lonely  pros- 
pect for  a  five  months'  voyage.  At  the  start  they  experienced 
stormy  nights  and  calm  days;  and,  for  a  whole  week,  were 
tossed  about  off  the  northwest  coast  of  Ireland,  without  mak- 
ing much  progress. 

At  4  o'clock  p.  m.,  on  the  6th  of  December,  they  were  over- 
taken by  a  cyclone.  In  that  part  of  the  great  circular  storm 
in  which  they  lay,  the  wind  blew  from  the  south.     The  ship 


S.  MARTIN,  D,  D.,  AND   WIFE.  26 1 

was  not  in  trim  and  plunged  heavily.  The  tack  also  was 
unfavorable,  and  it  was  not  deemed  safe,  under  these  condi- 
tions, to  attempt  to  heave  to.  The  captain  therefore  de- 
cided to  close  reef  the  main  topsail,  head  the  ship  northward, 
and  let  her  run  before  the  wind ;  and  so  the  vessel  was  driven 
northward  at  the  speed  of  eleven  knots  an  hour.  According 
to  the  best  information  the  captain  possessed,  the  vessel,  judg- 
ing from  the  direction  of  her  course  and  rate  of  speed,  would 
be  driven  upon  the  northwest  coast  of  Ireland  within  twenty- 
four  hours.  But  there  was  no  certainty  as  to  their  true  posi- 
tion, no  good  observation  having  been  obtained  during  the 
past  seven  days ;  and  as  the  shadows  of  that  very  dark  night 
settled  down  upon  the  troubled  deep,  every  heart  was  filled  with 
painful  anxiety.  At  8  o'clock,  the  great  storm  wave  of  the 
cyclone  swept  over  them,  completely  submerging  the  vessel, 
forcing  the  long  boat  from  its  fastenings  into  the  sea,  and 
carrying  with  it  all  the  pigs  and  sheep  the  boat  contained  for 
the  long  voyage.  All  the  rest  of  the  boats  were  either  torn 
loose  and  swept  away,  or  broken  to  pieces.  The  bulwarks 
were  stove  in,  and  the  spare  spars  set  adrift  on  the  upper  deck, 
and  one  of  the  crew  was  washed  overboard  and  lost. 

When  the  morn  of  the  /th  of  December  dawned  upon  the 
wreck,  the  wind  had  fallen ;  but  it  was  found  necessary  to 
make  some  port  as  soon  as  possible  for  repairs.  The  ship  be- 
ing turned  southeast,  was  soon  within  sight  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Shannon,  off  the  west  coast  of  Ireland,  where  she  lay  waiting 
for  a  fair  wind,  her  officers  purposing  to  sail  up  that  river 
to  Limerick  for  repairs  as  soon  as  the  wind  should  change. 
Whilst  they  were  waiting,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  suggested  to 
the  officers  that  it  would  be  better  to  return  to  Glasgow  or 
Greenock,  reasoning  that  the  firm's  own  appliances  for  repair- 
ing ships  were  at  Greenock,  and  that  the  work  would,  there- 
fore, cost  less  there  than  at  Limerick ;  they  urged  also  that  the 
wind  having  become  favorable  for  returning  to  Greenock,  that 
port  could  be  reached  in  less  time  probably  than  the  other, 
which  was  nearer  in  actual  distance.     The  suggestion  of  our 


262  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

missionary  was  promptly  acted  upon,  and  by  Monday  morn- 
ing, December  9th,  the  City  of  Brussels  was  back  to  Greenock, 
a  short  distance  below  Glasgow,  whence  she  had  sailed  less 
than  a  fortnight  before. 

After  a  delay  of  two  weeks  at  Greenock  for  repairs,  the  mis- 
sionaries were  again  on  their  way  in  the  same  vessel,  with  a 
new  and  less  considerate  captain,  the  former  having  fallen  sick. 
At  the  island  of  Arran,  the  wind  proving  adverse,  they  an- 
chored in  Lamlash  harbor,  where  they  were  detained  for  the 
space  of  a  week,  not  getting  fairly  under  way  until  the  first  of 
January,  1867.  And  now,  taking  a  new  course  along  the  east 
coast  of  Ireland,  they  ran  too  near  land,  and  when  opposite 
Wicklow  struck  upon  a  sand-bar,  but  floated  off  without  any 
more  serious  damage  than  a  slight  leak.  A  few  days  later 
they  were  in  the  much  dreaded  Bay  of  Biscay,  where  they  en- 
countered another  storm,  on  account  of  which  they  were  com- 
pelled to  heave  to  and  lie  where  they  were  for  three  days,  un- 
til the  storm  was  spent.  Thenceforward  they  experiened  no 
more  bad  weather  during  their  voyage. 

Off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  the  ship's  crew  obtained  access 
to  the  cargo,  and  opened  a  case  of  liquor,  on  which  every  man, 
except  one  Christian  sailor  and  the  ship's  carpenter,  became 
drunk.  The  weather,  however,  was  calm,  and  happily  no 
harm  resulted  to  the  vessel  or  passengers.  This  serious  act 
of  insubordination  could  have  been  severely  punished  had  the 
captain  been  disposed  to  report  the  crew  at  the  port  of  desti- 
nation ;  but  being  a  very  economical  manager,  he  had  not  been 
just  in  dealing  out  their  rations,  and  was  therefore  willing  to 
make  no  report  of  their  conduct,  if  they  would  not  complain 
of  him. 

The  captain,  as  has  already  been  stated,  was  a  strict  econo- 
mijst,  and  the  only  bread  which  he  provided  for  the  two  mis- 
sionary passengers  was  a  store  of  biscuits,  which  may  have 
been  good  on  some  previous  voyage,  but  were  now  alive  with 
worms.  As  a  special  favor,  and  at  Mrs,  Martin's  particular 
request,  he  substituted  some  of  the  sailors'  biscuits — not  by 


COLONIZING    NATIVE    CHRISTIANS.  263 

the  plate-full,  but  doled  out  one  by  one  for  her  individual  ben- 
efit. On  such  diet  as  this^  Mrs.  Martin's  health  suffered  seri- 
ously, and  during  the  latter  part  of  the  voyage  she  became  so 
reduced  that  she  was  unable  to  sit  up.  They  landed  in  Cal- 
cutta on  the  3d  of  May,  1867.  On  the  lOth  of  the  same 
month,  they  took  the  train  for  Delhi,  1,000  miles  northwest  of 
Calcutta,  and  arrived  at  Gujranwa'la  on  the  i8th. 

Had  they  traveled  the  usual  route  taken  by  passengers  for 
India,  they  could  have  made  the  whole  voyage  from  New  York 
to  Gujranwa'la  in  six  or  seven  weeks,  and  landed  in  the  cool- 
est and  most  healthful  season.  Their  traveling  as  they  did 
saved  a  little  money,  but  it  consumed  nearly  seven  months  of 
precious  time,  subjected  them  to  unnecessary  hardships,  and 
exposed  them  to  the  danger  of  landing  on  the  shores  of  India 
in  the  hottest  season  of  the  year.  Mr.  Martin  has  the  best 
physique  of  any  man  in  the  Mission ;  Mrs.  Martin,  too,  has 
an  excellent  constitution ;  but  they  needed  it  all  to  come  safely 
through  their  rough  initiation.  I  believe  they  still  regret  that 
they  did  not  borrow  money  and  pay  the  extra  expense  of  trav- 
eling by  the  short  route. 

COLONIZING    NATIVE  CHRISTIANS. 

Sometime  in  the  year  1867,  a  scheme  was  devised  by  Revs. 
Martin  and  Scott  for  establishing  a  native  Christian  colony  at 
Scott  garh.  It  was  hoped  that  some  of  the  Christians  might 
be  induced  to  settle  at  that  place  and  engage  in  farming,  and 
that  in  this  way  the  perplexing  problem  of  their  temporal  sup- 
port might  be  solved.  This  enterprise  was  regarded  with  favor 
by  the  British  Government,  and  the  general  opinion  was  that 
if  successfully  carried  through,  it  would  be  in  various  ways 
quite  advantageous  to  the  cause  of  Missions.  But  a  piece  of 
land  consisting  of  only  eleven  acres  was  entirely  too  small  for 
the  proposed  colony. 

Ha'san  Khan,  the  wealthy  Lambarddr  of  Zafarwal',  men- 
tioned in  a  previous  chapter,  from  whom  these  eleven  acres 
had  been  purchased,  being  in  need  of  money,  offered  Messrs. 
Scott  and  Martin,  in  addition  to  the  eleven  acres  already  sold 


264  OUR    INDIA   MISSION. 

them,  two  hundred  acres  more,  on  terms  which  are  customary 
in  India,  as  follows:  Rs.  1000  were  to  be  lent  to  Ha'san  Khan 
by  the  missionaries  for  a  period  of  ten  years,  in  consideration 
of  which  he  was  to  give  them  a  mortgage  on  the  said  two  hun- 
dred acres,  and  give  them  the  possession  and  use  of  the  land 
for  this  period  of  time.  Any  products  or  income  obtained 
from  the  land  should  accrue  to  the  missionaries — after  their 
paying  the  government  tax — instead  of  interest  on  their  one 
thousand  rupee  loan ;  and  at  the  end  of  the  ten  years  Ha'san 
Khan,  if  he  so  desired,  should  be  at  liberty  to  repay  the  Rs. 
1000,  and  again  take  possession  of  his  land. 

Upon  these  terms  two  hundred  acres  of  land  adjoining  Scott 
garh  having  been  secured,  seven  native  Christian  families  re- 
moved from  Sial'kot,  and  settled  upon  it.  These,  together 
with  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na,  already  living  at  Scott  garh,  and 
some  others  who  were  there  employed  as  Scripture  readers 
and  catechists,  constituted  the  colony.  As  the  colonists  were 
all  very  poor,  one  ox  and  food  enough  to  carry  them  through 
the  first  year  were  given  to  each  family  to  encourage  them, 
and  render  it  possible  for  them  to  begin  work.  They  all  com- 
bined and  built  for  themselv.es  cheap  houses ;  and  the  first  year 
God  gave  them  a  very  good  crop  of  potatoes  and  sugar-cane 
as  the  reward  of  their  labor,  in  so  far  as  labor  was  performed. 
But  five  out  of  the  seven  showed  no  disposition  to  exert  them- 
selves, indolently  depending  upon  the  small  capital  given  them 
to  begin  with,  and  looking  for  more  when  that  was  exhausted. 
They  were  willing  to  live  there  and  play  the  gentleman  if  pro- 
vided for,  but  would  not  work.  In  the  course  of  a  few  months 
they  began  one  by  one  to  desert  the  colony.  At  the  end  of 
three  years  the  seven  had  all  departed,  and  with  the  exception 
of  a  few  employed  directly  in  Mission  work,  Kana'ya  and 
Bhaj'na  were  all  that  remained  of  the  colony. 

The  lazy  and  unchristian  conduct  of  those  brethren  for 
whose  benefit  this  attempt  at  colonization  was  made,  grieved 
Mr.  Martin  and  Mr.  Scott  exceedingly.  The  mere  failure  of 
the  project  itself  was  not  so  very  important;  but  such  conduct 


REV.  SAMUEL   MARTIN,   D.   D. 


MRS.  LVUIA    L.  MARTIN. 


COLONIZING    NATIVE   CHRISTIANS.  265 

in  professing  Christians  made  it  appear  doubtful  whether  they 
were  truly  converted,  and  led  to  the  suspicion  that  they  cared 
only  for  the  "  loaves  and  fishes."  A  certain  class  of  native 
converts  given  to  idle  habits  was  becoming  numerous,  and  our 
own  and  other  missions  were  thereby  becoming  demoralized. 
When  they  found  they  could  not  eat  without  working  in  one 
Mission,  they  went  to  another.  Soon  finding  that  one  no  bet- 
ter, they  passed  on  in  the  hope  of  finding  somewhere  a  kind- 
hearted  Pa'drl  Sd'Jub  with  plenty  of  money,  who  assuming  the 
loving  relation  of  ma  bap  (parents — literally,  mother  and  father) 
to  them,  would  tenderly  and  indulgently  "  nourish  them  and 
cherish  them"  just  as  a  loving  Christian  parent  should.  Such 
converts  were  burdensome  both  to  missionaries  and  to  friendly 
English  officers,  and  were  regarded  as  even  less  deserving  of 
respect  than  the  unconverted  heathen  themselves;  and  worse 
than  all,  they  gave  occasion  to  the  heathen  to  say  mockingly : 
"The  missionaries  first  spoil  our  people  by  making  converts 
of  them,  and  then  turn  them  adrift."  In  short,  converts  of  this 
character  were  salt  that  had  lost  its  savor — "  good  for  nothing, 
but  to  be  cast  out,  and  to  be  trodden  under  foot  of  men." 

Such  good-for-nothings  roved  about  the  country,  laid  their 
burden  upon  missionaries,  refused  to  work,  brought  the  Chris- 
tian religion  into  contempt,  and  gave  so  much  trouble  that 
the  problem  of  their  employment  and  support  began  to  be 
spoken  of  by  some  as  "the  moimtain  difficidty  of  mission 
worky  When,  therefore,  the  attempt  of  our  brethren  to  solve 
this  problem  by  settling  some  Christian  families  on  land,  not 
only  failed,  but  resulted  in  setting  adrift  six  or  seven  families 
more  to  wander  about  mischievously,  can  we  wonder  that  they 
were  grieved?  The  unchristian  conduct  of  those  colonists, 
and  the  troubles  and  hardships  which  their  conduct  entailed 
upon  poor  Brother  Scott,  had,  it  is  believed,  very  much  to  do 
with  his  last  illness. 

This  failure  to  colonize  Christians  at  Scott  garh,  more  prob- 
ably than  any  other  one  thing,  led  our  missionaries  to  ques- 
tion whether  we  ought  to  try  to  colonize  them,  or  establish  in- 


266  OUR   INDIA  MISSION. 

dustrial  schools,  or  undertake  to  provide  for  their  support  in 
any  form  whatever.  But  I  will  leave  this  question  to  be  taken 
up  in  another  place. 

After  the  failure  of  this  forced  and  artificial  attempt  at  colo- 
nization, the  small  Christian  community,  which  existed  at 
Scott  garh  previous  to  this  attempt,  began  to  grow  slowly — 
almost  imperceptibly;  but  its  growth  was  natural  and  healthy, 
and  has  proved  to  be  permanent. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

THE   MISSING    FAMILY. 

KANA^YA,  BANISHED  FROM  HIS  VILLAGE,  YEARNS  FOR  HIS  FAMILY — A 
MIDNIGHT  VENTURE — THE  FATHER  SUES  FOR  HIS  CHILDREN  IN  THE 
CIVIL  COURT — THE  SUMMONS — EXCITEMENT  AMONG  HEATHEN  RELA- 
TIVES— PREPARATIONS  FOR  REMOVING  THE  FAMILY  TO  PARTS  UN- 
KNOWN— THE  KIDNAPERS  THUNDERSTRUCK — "THIS  IS  ALL  A  LIE" — 
KANA''YA  once  more  in  HIS  OWN  HOME  WITH  HIS  FAMILY — EMPLOYS 
A  PLEADER  BY  WHOM  HE  IS  BETRAYED — REPEATED  JOURNEYS  TO 
COURT  IN  VAIN — ALL  SECTS  JOIN  TO  CONTEST  A  CHRISTIAN'S  CASE  IN 
COURT — THE  MAGISTRATE  DECIDES  THAT  FOUR  OF  THE  CHILDREN 
M-UST  BE  GIVEN  TO  KANA^YA — FEIGNED  SUBMISSION — THE  FAMILY 
DISAPPEARS — SEARCH  BY  THE  CHRISTIANS — NO  TRACE — RESORT  TO 
PRAYER — HEATHEN  NEIGHBORS  MOCKING  SAY,  "HE  CAN't  SEE  HIS 
WIFE  AND  children" — FIVE  MONTHS,  AND  NO  TRACE  OF  THE  MISSING 
FAMILY — ^A  HEATHEN  FATHER  BEGS  THE  PRAYERS  OF  CHRISTIANS  FOR 
HIS  SICK  CHILD — THE  CHILD'S  RECOVERY  LEADS  TO  THE  DISCOVERY 
OF  THE  MISSING  FAMILY — DE^VA  SINGH,  THE  TYRANT — "  TELL  KAN- 
A^YA  I'll  SHOOT  HIM  OR  TAKE  OFF  HIS  HEAD  IF  HE  COMES  FOR  HIS 
family" — SCOTT  ENCOURAGES  THE  CHRISTIANS  TO  PRAY  AND  HOPE — 
GOD  WILL  BRING  THE  CHILDREN  FIRST,  THEN  THE  MOTHER,  THEN  THE 
GRANDFATHER. 

FOR  a  period  of  three  long  months  our  friend  Kana'ya  had 
not  even  once  been  cheered  by  the  sight  of  wKq  or  child. 
Na'ya  Find,  the  village  in  which  they  lived,  was  scarcely  a 
mile  distant  from  Scott  garh,  and  as  often  as  with  a  longing 
heart  he  turned  his  eyes  in  that  direction,  their  village  was  in 
full  view;  but  the  bright  faces  of  his  dear  children  could  not  be 
seen,  nor  the  sweet  music  of  their  prattle  heard.  His  beloved 
Bas'so,  Lah'nu  and  GanMu,  and  his  precious  little  pet  Mak'han, 
the  darling  of  her  father's  heart,  were  all  strictly  guarded  in 
Na'ya  Find,  never  daring  so  much  as  to  stroll  across  the  fields 
for  a  happy  hour  with  their  dej'ected  father.  On  the  contrary, 
their  susceptible  hearts  were  being  alienated  from  him  by  his 

{267) 


268  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

enemies,  who  were  whispering  all  manner  of  falsehoods  into 
their  ears,  and  their  docile  minds  were  being  warped  from  day 
to  day  by  heathenish  influences.  Kana'ya  meanwhile  diligently 
studied  his  Bible,  and,  under  the  teachings  of  Messrs.  Scott  and 
Clement,  was  making  daily  advances  in  his  acquaintance  with 
all  that  is  good,  pure  and  lovely;  and  the  more  he  learned  of 
all  this,  the  more  tenderly  did  his  heart  yearn  after  his  dear 
children,  and  the  more  anxiously  did  he  long  to  bring  them  to 
his  home.  As  he  endeavored  to  busy  himself  in  Scott  garh 
from  week  to  week  and  from  month  to  month,  this  painful 
separation  became  so  distressing  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to 
sleep. 

One  night,  as  he  lay  sorrowfully  meditating  upon  these 
things,  a  bright  thought  entered  his  mind :  "  I  will  go  up  to 
the  Deputy  Commissioner  at  Sial'kot,"  said  he,  "and  enter  a 
legal  suit  for  my  children,  in  his  court." 

But  Kana'ya  concluded  that  if  he  should  take  the  matter 
into  court  unknown  to  his  wife,  her  mind  might  probably  be- 
come thereby  alienated  from  him,  since  all  women  of  good 
social  position  feel  intense  repugnance  to  appearing  publicly  in 
court:  he  must,  therefore,  by  all  means  consult  her  before  tak- 
ing this  important  step.  At  midnight  he  rose  from  his  bed 
while  the  thought  was  fresh  in  his  mind,  and  went  boldly  over 
to  Na'ya  Find.  The  two  men  employed  to  prevent  his  enter- 
ing the  village,  finding  it  a  tedious  and  monotonous  business 
to  watch  all  night  long,  night  after  night  and  month  after 
month  indefinitely,  for  a  man  who  never  came,  were  this  night 
happily  off  their  guard.  The  autumn  was  not  far  advanced 
and  the  weather  had  not  become  cool  enough  to  drive  people 
into  their  houses  at  night;  and  as  Kana'ya  once  more  entered 
the  court  of  his  own  house  at  the  risk  of  being  arrested  as  a 
thief  and  dragged  before  the  magistrate,  he  observed  his  deadly 
enemies  lying  sound  asleep  on  their  charpd'ls  strewn  promiscu- 
ously about  the  court.  Slipping  noiselessly  through  their 
midst,  he  stood  at  the  head  of  Ramde'i's  bed,  studying  what 
to  do  next.  "  What  if  she  should  take  alarm  on  being  sud- 


THE   MISSING    FAMILY.  269 

denly  awakened  out  of  a  sound  sleep!"  said  Kana'ya  to  him- 
self. "The  slightest  disturbance  would  be  sure  to  arouse 
some  one,  and  then  I  would  find  myself  in  a  pretty  den  of 
lions."  Soliloquizing  thus  for  a  moment,  he  determined  to 
run  the  risk.  Taking  gently  between  the  palms  of  his  hands 
the  head  of  Ramde'i,  he  shook  it  slightly,  and  awakened  with- 
out alarming  her. 

"  Sit  down,  my  husband,  sit  low,"  she  whispered,  "  and  make 
no  noise.     Why  have  you  come?     Is  it  well  with  you?" 

"  It  is  not  well  with  me,"  Kana'ya  replied,  whispering  close 
to  her  ear,  "  for  three  whole  months  have  I  been  able  to  see 
neither  your  dear  face  nor  those  of  my  dear  children.  How 
can  I  say  it  is  well?  Ramde'i',"  he  continued,  "  I  have  re- 
solved to  enter  suit  for  my  children  in  the  Deputy  Commis- 
sioner's court.     What  have  you  to  say  to  this  ?  " 

With  the  utmost  composure  and  deliberation,  Ramde'i  an- 
swered, "  No  objection  whatever  have  I  to  this ;  if  you  sue  for 
the  children,  and  the  Governnient  decrees  that  they  must  be 
given  to  you,  my  Hindu  relatives  cannot  reproach  me,  and  no 
one  can  lay  upon  me  any  blame." 

"  That  is  all,  then,"  said  Kana'ya,  "  peace  be  with  you." 

"  Peace  be  with  you,"  returned  Ramde'i,  "  go  out  quietly 
now,  lest  some  one  awake  and  there  be  a  disturbance."  So 
Kana'ya  returned  to  the  Castle. 

Mr.  Scott  was  then  in  Sial'kot,  having  left  John  Clement  to 
direct  affairs  temporarily  in  his  absence.  After  a  few  minutes 
consultation  with  Mr.  Clement,  Kana'ya  was  off  before  day- 
break, and  at  nine  o'clock  the  same  morning  was  sipping  a 
cup  of  tea  with  Brother  Scott  at  Sial'kot,  whilst  5cott  was 
eagerly  listening  to  his  account  of  the  situation  of  affairs  at 
Scott  garh  and  Na'ya  Pind. 

Mr.  Scott  heartily  approved  of  Kana'ya's  purpose  to  sue  for 
his  children  in  the  civil  court.  Stamped  paper  was  procured 
and  a  scribe  called,  and  a  petition  for  his  children  drawn  up  in 
legal  form  for  presentation  before  Major  Mercer,  the  Deputy 
Commissioner.     Kana'ya  employed  a  native  pleader  to  carry 


270  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

his  case  through  the  labyrinths  of  legal  process,  and  laid  his 
petition  before  the  Deputy  Commissioner,  the  Chief  Magistrate 
of  the  Sial'kot  Civil  District,  upon  which  he  received  notice 
to  appear  at  the  end  of  fifteen  days.  After  this  he  returned 
early  the  next  morning  to  Zafarwal'. 

Three  days  later  a  summons  was  served  on  Ramde'i  to  ap- 
pear in  the  court  at  Sial'kot  as  defendant.  The  strong-minded 
woman  received  this  summons  with  such  a  degree  of  quiet 
unconcern  as  utterly  astonished  her  distressed  heathen  rela- 
tives and  neighbors,  whilst  they  on  the  other  hand  raised  quite 
enough  of  commotion  to  fully  make  up  for  her  failure.  Not 
only  her  kinsmen,  neighbors,  and  co-religionists,  but  even 
Muhammadans,  joined  the  chorus  of  weeping,  howling,  and 
frantic  beating  of  the  breast.  "  None  of  our  women,"  said  her 
own  relatives,  "ever  saw  a  court-room  before.  We  are  mis- 
erably defeated!  We  are  wretchedly  disgraced!  The  chil- 
dren will  be  taken! " 

Excitement  ran  high.  Seven  men,  most  of  them  related  to 
Ramde'i,  learning  that  the  children  were  likely  to  be  given 
over  to  their  Christian  father,  came  down  a  distance  of  sixteen 
miles  from  the  village  of  Sukho-chak  in  the  kingdom  of  Kash- 
mir, determined  at  all  hazards  to  prevent  such  a  dire  calamity; 
plots  were  devised  to  defeat  the  law,  and  on  the  eighth  day 
after  suit  was  entered,  a  rumor  was  current  that  Ramde'i  and 
the  children  were  about  to  be  removed  secretly  to  parts  un- 
known. 

Kana'ya,  hearing  this  alarming  rumor,  said  to  Mr.  Scott, 
who  had  by  this  time  returned  to  the  Castle:  "They  are  going 
to  carry  off  my  children;  I  must  go  over  to  Na'ya  Find  im- 
mediately." 

Scott,  knowing  well  the  danger  of  approaching  an  angry 
mob,  strongly  objected. 

"But,"  said  Kana'ya,"!  imist  go;  I  will  go.  Come  you 
also  with  me." 

Mr.  Scott  then  consented,  saying :  "  If  anything  untoward 
happens,  it  is  not  well  that  you  should  be  alone  among  your 


THE   MISSING   FAMILY.  2/1 

enemies.  I  will  go  with  you,  for  I  can  at  least  be  a  witness  to 
whatever  may  take  place."  So  they  both  went  over  to  Na'ya 
Find. 

A  score  or  more  of  Kana'ya's  enemies  were  busily  employed 
in  his  house  and  court,  making  preparations  to  remove  beyond 
his  sight  and  reach  all  that  he  held  most  dear  in  this  world; 
whilst  Ramde'i,  who  expected  as  a  matter  of  course  to  accom- 
pany the  children  in  the  event  of  their  being  taken  away,  was 
gently  remonstrating  against  the  lawless  proceedings  of  the 
mob — "  You  had  better  not  do  this ;  it  is  unlawful.  Perhaps 
you  may  not  be  able  to  endure  what  will  come  upon  you  for 
all  this."  Thus  she  mildly  remonstrated;  but  they  heeded  her 
not,  and  had  their  arrangements  for  removing  the  family  well 
nigh  completed  when  the  outraged  father  and  husband  came 
upon  them. 

Kana'ya,  as  he  stood  in  his  doorway,  felt  as  we  may  ima- 
gine a  leopard  or  a  lion  would  feel  when  about  to  be  robbed 
of  its  young,  and  his  feelings  were  so  well  expressed  by  his 
very  looks  and  voice  that  his  first  utterance  fairly  startled  the 
miscreants  in  the  height  of  their  lawless  proceedings.  Sum- 
moning up  all  his  powers  of  body  and  mind,  he  thundered  at 
the  villains  with  irresistible  force  and  authority :  "  W/io  among 
you  dares  to  enter  my  house  and  take  away  fny  children? 
Leave  my  house  !     LEAVE  THIS  VERY  INSTANT ! ! 

Amazed  and  confounded,  the  lawless  intruders,  one  by  one, 
began  sullenly  to  retreat,  gnashing  their  teeth  at  him  as  they 
passed,  until  every  man  of  them  had  quit  the  premises,  leaving 
Kana'ya's  terrified  family  alone  in  the  court;  whilst  the  victor, 
conscious  of  being  in  the  right,  stood  in  moral  grandeur  be- 
tween his  sacred  home  and  its  would-be  spoilers,  looking  con- 
temptuously upon  his  cowardly  enemies,  who,  retiring  to  a 
respectful  distance,  turned  about  and  impotently  vented  their 
malice  by  angry  glances. 

"  What  have  you  found  ?  "  contemptuously  demanded  one, 
after  a  brief  period  of  silence,  from  the  crowd ;  "  What  have 
you  learned  of  salvation  more  than  we  know?  What  have 
you  gained?     Declare  it  unto  us!  " 


2/2  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

"  /  will  declare  it,  if  you  will  but  listen,"  Kana'ya  replied. 
^God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave  his  07ily  begotten  Son,  that 
whosoever  believcth  in  him  should  7iot  perisli,  but  have  everlast- 
ing life!  Jesus  is  God's  Son.  Your  books  predict  the  com- 
ing of  a  sinless  incarnation  of  God,  and  he  is  that  sinless 
incarnation.  He  has  invited  all  sinners  to  come  to  him,  and 
be  saved.  He  gave  his  life  for  us.  We  believe  and  are  safe. 
All  who  believe  not  shall  perish.     This  have  I  found." 

A  voice  from  the  crowd — that  of  the  incredulous  Joa'la — ex- 
claimed :   "  This  is  all  a  lie.     How  can  it  be  true  ?  " 

Kana'ya  answered  him  by  appealing  to  the  Gra7ith — the 
sacred  book  of  the  Sikhs — to  prove  that  Jesus  is  the  Saviour 
of  men,  reciting  to  them  the  passage  which  is  written  in  Gur- 
mukh'i  verse. 

Joa'la  then  mocked  Kana'ya,  and  tried  to  provoke  him  by 
saying,  tauntingly,  "  Suppose  you  repeat  that." 

"  It  is  written,  that  we  should  not  cast  our  pearls  before 
swine,"  retorted  Kana'ya. 

Upon  this  some  of  the  angry  Megs  spat  contemptuously 
upon  the  ground — one  of  them  sarcastically  remarking :  "  Only 
yesterday  he  was  one  of  us,  and  to-day  we  are  swine  !  " 

And  now,  incensed  at  their  defeat  and  muttering  threats, 
they  gave  up  the  contest,  and  withdrew  from  the  field — even 
the  officious  relatives,  who  had  come  all  the  way  from  Sukho- 
chak,  crestfallen,  stealing  away  to  their  native  village;  and 
once  more  Kana'ya  and  Pd'dr'i  Scott  were  at  liberty,  unmo- 
lested to  have  a  talk  with  Ramde'i  and  the  children. 

Dinner  was  soon  prepared,  and  Mr.  Scott  enjoyed  the  pecu- 
liar satisfaction  of  again  seating  himself  in  Kana'ya's  own 
house  and  partaking  with  him  of  bread  prepared  by  the  willing 
hands  of  Kana'ya's  own  wife,"  Ramde'i,  and  of  presenting  to 
her  Jesus  Christ  and  him  crucified,  and  praying  fervently  for  her 
and  the  children.  Ramde'i  thoroughly  understood  it  all,  but 
frankly  confessed  that  she  was  not  able  to  take  up  the  cross 
and  become  a  follower  of  Christ,  at  the  same  time  promising 
that  she  would  not  willingly  leave  the  neighborhood,  as  her 
Meg  relatives  desired. 


THE   MISSING    FAMILY.  2/3 

When  the  day  arrived  which  Major  Mercer  had  set  for  hear- 
ing Kana'ya's  case,  he  went  up  to  the  court-house  at  Sial'kot 
to  prosecute  his  suit.  Seven  men  went  up  with  Ramde'i  to 
help  her  contest  the  suit,  or  rather  to  contest  it  for  her,  since 
she  was  by  no  means  zealous  in  the  matter.  Ra'ma,  Kana'ya's 
own  father,  who  was  one  of  the  seven,  was  entrusted  with  the 
special  business  of  keeping  guard  over  Ramde'i  to  prevent  the 
possibility  of  her  husband  persuading  her  to  become  a  Christian. 
Faki'ra,  who,  at  the  beginning  of  this  Christian  movement,  had 
been  one  of  the  very  foremost,  was  another  of  the  seven,  who 
took  a  very  zealous  part  in  opposing  Kana'ya,  having  by  this 
time  turned  so  entirely  against  the  Christian  religion  that  he 
now  refused  so  much  as  even  to  speak  to  a  Christian.  The 
incredulous  old  Joa'la  was  another  of  the  zealous  contestants 
of  the  Christians'  law  suit,  and,  finally,  Jan'na,  an  influential 
Muhammadan  Lambardar,  was  present,  delegated  by  the  Mu- 
hammadans  of  Zafarwal',  backed  with  money  and  pledged  to 
"  save  those  children  at  all  hazards." 

It  is  a  difficult  matter  for  an  honest  man  to  get  his  case 
through  court  successfully.  We  will  take  for  granted  that  the 
Deputy  Commissioner,  who  is  an  English  gentleman,  desires  to 
do  justice  to  all  parties  in  his  court;  but  the  natives  of  India 
being  fond  of  litigation,  his  court  is  daily  thronged  by  many 
hundreds  of  litigious  people;  plenty  of  witnesses,  ready  to 
swear  according  to  the  direction  of  their  employers,  are  always 
waiting  to  be  hired ;  a  great  number  of  native  officials  of  vari- 
ous grades,  in  carrying  out  the  system  adopted  by  the  English 
government,  are  necessarily  employed  about  the  court,  many 
of  them  being  very  corrupt ;  the  people  speak  at  least  two  lan- 
guages, which  are  foreign  to  the  Deputy  Commissioner;  and 
many  things  can  be  done  dishonestly  every  hour  in  his  very 
presence  without  his  knowledge.  He  would,  therefore,  be  a 
very  wonderful  man  if  his  ears,  eyes  and  wits  were  sharp  enough 
to  detect  and  defeat  the  efforts  constantly  made  to  impede  the 
dispensation  of  justice. 

The  advocate  whom  Kana'ya  employed  to   represent  him, 


2/4  ^UR    INDIA    MISSION, 

naturally  sympathizing  with  his  own  coreligionists,  Kan'aya's 
enemies,  accepted  a  bribe  from  them  and  worked  in  their 
interest. 

As  a  result  of  this,  Kana'ya  was  informed,  falsely  as  it  after- 
wards appeared,  that  Major  Mercer,  having  no  time  to  hear 
the  case  just  then,  had  given  orders  that  he  should  appear 
again  one  month  later,  on  the  15th  of  December. 

Returning  to  Scott  garh,  Kana'ya  waited  patiently  the  one 
month,  after  which  he  again  appeared  in  court,  but  was  in- 
formed by  his  lawyer — all  the  while  working  for  Kana'ya's 
enemies — that  the  hearing  of  his  case  had  been  further  post- 
poned by  the  Deputy  Commissioner  until  the  lOth  of  January. 
For  the  third  time  the  disappointed  man  went  home  to  Scott 
garh,  where  he  patiently  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  appointed 
day,  and  then  once  more  made  the  journey  of  twenty-six  miles 
to  Sial'kot,  on  foot  as  usual,  to  appear  in  court  with  the  hope 
of  obtaining,  by  the  aid  of  the  strong  arm  of  English  law,  pos- 
session of  his  dear  children.  Kana'ya  walked  the  twenty-six 
miles,  now  for  the  seventh  time,  and  strongly  suspecting  that 
these  repeated  postponements  were  not  ordered  by  the  Deputy 
Commissioner,  but  privately  ordered  by  native  officials,  bribed 
by  his  enemies,  in  order  that  by  his  non-appearance  his  case 
might  be  thrown  out  of  court,  did  not  go  direct  to  the  court 
house  this  time,  but  first  to  Mr.  Scott  on  the  south  premises 
for  counsel. 

When  Mr.  Scott  heard  Kana'ya's  story  of  journey  after  jour- 
ney, resulting  only  in  repeated  and  disheartening  disappoint- 
ment, he  was  much  grieved,  and  wrote  a  line  to  the  Deputy 
Commissioner,  as  follows:  "This  poor  man  has  come  to  you 
for  his  children  now  the  fourth  time.  Why  does  he  receive 
no  answer  to  his  petition  ?  "  Then,  accompanying  Kana'ya  to 
the  court  house,  he  awaited  the  arrival  of  the  Deputy  Com- 
missioner, to  whom  he  himself  handed  the  note  just  as  the 
gentleman  alighted  from  his  carriage.  The  Deputy  Commis- 
sioner, after  reading  the  short  but  significant  note,  immediately 
: summoned  Kana'ya  and  Ramde'i,  and  obliging  all  the  rest  to 


THE    MISSING    FAMILY,  2/5 

hold  their  peace,  said  to  the  mother:  "The  four  older  chil- 
dren must  now  be  given  up  to  Kana'ya.  The  infant  will  re- 
main with  you  until  it  is  five  years  old.  If  possible,  you  your- 
self should  go  and  live  with  your  husband;  you  can  do  so 
and  still  remain  a  Hindu  if  you  choose." 

The  disappointed  faction,  on  hearing  this  decision,  notwith- 
standing all  their  deceitful  machinations  and  expensive  bribes, 
burst  forth  into  loud  wailing  and  lamentation.  True  to  the 
Oriental  character,  they  prostrated  themselves  at  the  feet  of 
Kana'ya,  and  feigned  the  most  abject  submission.  "  Take  now 
the  children,"  they  said,  "  it  is  your  right.  As  you  desire, 
so  do." 

Mr.  Scott  observed  that  they  took  particular  care  not  to  let 
Kana'ya  speak  to  Ramde'i,  which  gave  him,  however,  no  un- 
easiness, because  he  believed  their  spirit  of  opposition  to  be  so 
completely  broken,  that  they  were  not  likely  to  give  any  more 
trouble ;  he  regarded  the  children  as  secured.  And  after 
warning  Kana'ya's  enemies  to  beware  of  doing  anything  con- 
trary to  Government  orders,  he  took  Kana'ya  to  his  home  on 
the  south  mission  premises  for  a  night's  rest. 

The  next  morning  Kana'ya  hastened  home  at  an  early  hour, 
and  boldly  entered  Na'ya  Find,  buoyant  with  the  joyful  pros- 
pect of  once  more  welcoming  the  dear  children  to  his  fond 
embrace,  and  confident  that  after  he  would  take  the  little  ones 
to  himself,  his  own  lovely  Ramde'i  would  soon  follow,  when, 
behold!  his  house  was  deserted.  His  wife  and  children  were 
gone.  His  furniture,  his  well-filled  garner,  and  his  abundant 
stores,  such  as  are  to  be  found  in  a  thrifty  farmer's  house,  were 
all  gone.  He  had  been  well-off,  as  wealth  was  estimated  among 
his  people,  but  now  he  found  nothing — absolutely  nothing  but 
the  bare  clay  walls  and  roof 

When  he  inquired  from  the  people  of  Na'ya  Find  where  his 
wife  and  children  were,  he  received  the  answer  that  they  knew 
not  certainly  where  they  were,  but  thought,  perhaps,  they  had 
gone  down  to  Jhandran'.  The  very  unconcernedness  and  in- 
difference with  which   his   deceitful  neighbors  replied  to  his 


276  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

anxious  inquiries  encouraged  a  faint  hope,  and  away  he  has- 
tened to  Jhandran'.  On  his  returning  and  reporting  in  Na'ya 
Pind  that  his  wife  and  children  had  been  neither  seen  nor 
heard  of  in  Jhandran',  he  was  again  cruelly  tantalized  by  the 
cool  reply,  "  Then  we  know  not  where  they  are,  if  they  are  not 
at  Jhandran'." 

Mr.  Scott,  Kana'ya,  Bhaj'na  and  Clement,  searched  and  in- 
quiried  diligently  in  every  direction;  but  every  man,  woman 
and  child  who  could  have  informed  them  having  been  com- 
pletely intimidated  by  threats,  and  every  trace  of  the  missing 
family  being  entirely  obliterated,  no  clue  whatever  was  found 
to  their  whereabouts. 

Mr,  Scott  gathered  the  Christians  together  for  prayer,  with 
special  reference  to  this  perplexing  matter,  and  expressed 
strong  hopes  of  soon  finding  the  lost  family ;  but  a  whole 
month  passed  away,  during  which  not  the  slightest  trace  of 
them  was  discovered,  and  still  they  hoped  and  prayed.  Three 
months  rolled  mournfully  by,  and  yet  no  reasonable  conjecture 
could  be  formed  as  to  where  Ramde'i  and  the  children  were, 
whilst  Mr.  Scott  hopefully  and  unceasingly  continued  to  have 
all  the  brethren  meet  and  lay  their  trouble  before  the  Hearer 
of  prayer,  confidently  believing  that  they  would  yet  be  heard ; 
that  God  would  first  bring  back  the  children,  then  their  mother, 
and,  finally,  Ra'ma,  Kana'ya's  own  father,  who  had  disappeared 
with  the  rest. 

Scott's  confident  belief  that  God  would  restore  to  Kana'ya 
his  family  was  not  concealed  by  either  himself  or  the  Chris- 
tians, and  soon  become  known  to  all  their  heathen  neighbors. 
The  neighbors  laughed  contemptuously,  and  said :  ''Kana'yd 
cannot  see  his  wife  and  childreny  But  there  were  others 
among  the  heathen  to  whom  that  persistent  hopefulness  which 
enabled  Mr.  Scott  to  assert  confidently  that  God  would  give 
back  the  missing  ones  was  a  great  mystery.  It  arrested  their 
serious  attention,  especially  when  he  expressed  his  hope  in 
the  definite  form:  first  the  children,  then  their  mother,  and 
then  the  grandsire;  and  their  wonder  grew  from  year  to  year 


THE   MISSING    FAMILY,  27/ 

as  they  saw  his  hopes  and  prayers  fulfilled,  and  more  than  ful- 
filled, in  the  visible  growth  of  the  church  in  that  locality. 

One  day  John  Clement,  Bhaj'na  and  Kana'ya  were  on  their 
way  to  the  village  of  Pindo'ri,  having  been  invited  by  the  two 
Lambarddrs  of  that  town.  As  they  journeyed,  their  attention 
was  arrested  by  a  family  sitting  near  the  roadside,  evidently 
in  deep  distress ;  the  family  consisted  of  a  man  and  his  wife, 
their  little  child,  and  the  wife's  mother.  The  child,  suffering 
from  dysentery,  emaciated,  very  low,  was  evidently  in  the  last 
stage  of  that  dreadful  disease.  It  had  just  been  taken  by  its 
father  and  mother  to  a  native  doctor  in  Jhandran',  who  had 
told  them  that  there  was  no  hope  of  its  recovery ;  and  now  the 
distressed  parents  were  sitting  by  the  roadside  weeping  over 
their  ailing  child,  and  looking  momentarily  for  the  end.  The 
name  of  the  sorrowing  father  was  Ka'lu,  and  the  mother  was 
the  sister  of  Ramde'i.  Ka'lu,  recognizing  the  Christians  when 
they  drew  near,  earnestly  besought  Mr.  Clement  to  pray  for 
their  child  and  give  it  some  medicine.  "  Do  anything  you  can 
for  our  babe,"  said  the  afflicted  father,  weeping;  "and  I  promise 
solemnly  that  if  it  lives  I  will  give  it  to  you  to  do  with  it  what 
you  will." 

The  little  party  of  sympathizing  Christians  and  the  distressed 
parents  gathered  around  the  sick  child,  while  Mr.  Clement  led 
in  an  earnest  prayer  for  its  recovery,  after  which,  bidding  them 
carry  it  to  Mrs.  Clement  at  Scott  garh,  he  and  his  Chistian  com- 
panions went  to  fulfill  their  engagement  to  preach  at  Pindo'ri. 

On  their  arrival  at  that  place  they  were  hospitably  received 
by  the  Lambarddrs  who  had  invited  them.  CJidrpd'is  were 
already  set  out,  on  which  the  Christian  visitors  were  politely 
invited  to  be  seated.  Upon  the  ground  were  spread  mats, 
upon  which  the  hearers  were  to  sit;  many  of  the  villagers  had 
assembled,  and  everything  was  in  readiness.  Mr.  Clement 
preached  earnestly  for  about  an  hour.  One  of  the  Lambar- 
ddrs was  much  pleased  with  the  sermon,  -and  pronounced  it 
"true  words,"  forbidding  his  people  thenceforward  to  fast,  pray 
and  give  alms  for  mere  show,  as  they  had  ever  been  accus- 


278  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

tomed  to  do,  and  gave  them  strict  orders,  from  this  time  forth, 
to  pray  and  worship  with  the  heart.  Mr.  Clement  and  his 
companions,  after  declining  the  worthy  Lambardar's  urgent 
invitation  to  prolong  their  visit  in  Pindo'ri,  returned  to  Scott 
garh,  where  they  found  Mrs.  Clement  busily  engaged  with  the 
sick  child,  doing  what  she  could,  if  possible,  to  save  its  life, 
and  at  the  same  time  urging  its  father  and  mother  to  tell  her 
where  Ramde'i  and  her  children  were.  With  the  utmost  diffi- 
culty she  at  last  prevailed  upon  Ka'lu's  wife  to  disclose  the  fact 
that  the  missing  family  were  somewhere  in  the  kingdom  of 
Kashmir'.  On  giving  this  much  information,  Ka'lu's  wife  re- 
peatedly and  solemnly  charged  Mrs.  Clement  to  let  no  one 
know  what  she  had  disclosed. 

As  soon  as  Mr.  Scott — then  absent  at  Sial'kot  on  duty — 
heard  the  news  of  this  discovery,  and  found  time  to  visit  Scott 
garh,  he  gathered  all  the  Christians  together,  inquired  as  to 
the  exact  particulars  which  they  had  learned,  and  charged 
them  to  allow  nothing  to  prevent  them  from  meeting  twice 
every  day  for  prayer  in  regard  to  this  matter.  He  then  sent 
for  Ka'lu,  and,  leading  him  into  a  private  room  and  setting  the 
now  convalescent  child,  Piya'ra,  before  him,  addressed  him 
thus : — "  Ka'lu,  when  you  were  in  deep  distress  you  asked  us 
to  pray  for  this  child  and  give  it  medicine.  You  then  prom- 
ised that,  should  it  recover,  you  would  make  it  over  to  us  to 
be  trained  up  for  Jesus.  We  prayed  for  the  child  in  the  name 
of  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  used  remedies,  and  now  it  has  been  re- 
stored to  health.  Now  how  am  I  to  know  that,  after  we  have 
gone  to  the  expense  of  nursing,  supporting  and  educating  the 
child,  you  will  not  come  and  take  him  from  us  as  soon  as  he 
is  old  enough  to  work?" 

"  No,  Pd'dr'i  SdJiib,  I  am  not  such  a  faithless  fellow  as  to  do 
that,"  said  Ka'lu. 

"You  have  promised,  it  is  true,"  replied  Mr.  Scott,  "but 
how  can  we  trust  your  word?  What  proof  can  you  give  us 
that  you  are  trustworthy  ?  " 

Ka'lu  felt  greatly  embarrassed  at  the  Pd'drVs  searching 
question,  and  knew  not  how  to  answer. 


THE   MISSING    FAMILY,  2/9 

Scott  then  added :  "  When  you,  Ka'lu,  were  a  little  child, 
Kana'ya  loved  you  and  tenderly  cared  for  you,  and  afterwards 
reared  you  to  manhood  and  gave  you  away  in  marriage.  This 
child,  over  whom  you  wept  by  the  wayside,  when  you 
asked  Clement  to  pray  for  it,  is  no  dearer  to  you  than  you 
are  to  Kana'ya,  and  no  dearer  than  to  him  are  his  own  five 
children,  who  were  wickedly  stolen  from  his  home,  and  after 
whom  he  has  been  searching  with  a  sorrowful  heart  these 
five  long  months.  If  now  you  will  do  this  one  thing — if  you 
will  go  out  like  a  man  and  find  Ramde'i  and  the  children — 
then  I  will  know  with  certainty  that  Ka'lu  is  a  man  whose 
word  can  be  taken,  and  that  this  child  will  be  permitted  to 
continue  with  us." 

Ka'lu  was  silent  and  thoughtful  for  a  minute,  debating  the 
matter  in  his  own  mind.  The  appeal  which  Mr.  Scott  had 
made  was  such  as  was  well  calculated  to  move  the  Oriental 
heart.  But  Ka'lu  half  sympathized  with  those  who  wished 
Kana'ya's  children  to  grow  up  in  heathenism.  He  was  also 
afraid  that  he  might  be  found  out  if  he  should  aid  in  restoring 
them  to  their  Christian  father,  and  if  found  out,  he  would  be 
secretly  subjected  to  some  cruel  and  unheard-of  punishment. 
On  the  other  hand,  there  sat  Kana'ya  who  had  tenderly  nour- 
ished him  in  childhood ;  and  his  own  child,  Piya'ra,  who  had 
been  raised  from  death's  door  through  the  prayers  and  kind 
treatment  of  these  people,  also  stood  before  him  restored  to 
health.  "  These  Christians,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  are  praying 
for  Kana'ya's  children,  and  are  confident  that  God  will  grant 
their  desire.  Pd'dr'i  Scott  is  a  great  Saint;  whatever  he  says 
always  comes  true;  his  prayers  never  fall  to  the  ground.  It 
matters  not,  therefore,  whether  I  help  them,  or  refuse  to  do  so, 
they  will  surely  get  back  those  children ;  and  then  I  shall  ap- 
pear to  be  not  only  ungrateful,  but  utterly  contemptible."  After 
thus  debating  the  question  and  hesitating  for  a  time,  Ka'lu  at 
length  exacted  a  solemn  promise  from  Mr.  Scott  and  Kana'ya. 
that  they  should  not  betray  him,  and  then  agreed  to  go  andl 
do  his  best. 


280  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

On  the  following  morning  Kana'ya  slipped  two  rupees  into 
Ka'lu's  hand,  saying,  "  Perhaps  they  may  be  starving;  if  you  find 
them,  give  them  this  money."  And  now  Ka'lu  began  his  search 
for  the  lost  family,  and  many  earnest  prayers  for  his  success 
ascended  to  heaven  from  the  Christian  band  at  Scott  garh. 

Four  days  later  Ka'lu  returned,  and  entered  Scott  garh  at  an 
hour  when  no  hostile  eye  could  observe  him,  and  after  charg- 
ing the  Christians  to  keep  the  matter  a  profound  secret,,  made 
his  report:  "I  have  found  them,"  said  he;  "but  they  are  in 
such  a  tight  place  that  they  cannot  come  to  you,  nor  can  you 
by  any  possibility  go  to  them."  Then,  pointing  towards  the 
low  mountains  which  skirt  the  plain,  some  twenty-five  miles 
northeast  of  Zafarwal',  he  continued,  "  There  is  a  village  and  a 
fort  there.  The  village  is  called  Jan'd'i.  The  fort  is  the  head- 
quarters of  Salar  De'va  Singh,  the  most  cruel  tyrant  in  all 
creation ;  he  has  great  authority  in  the  kingdom  of  Kashmir', 
and  is  almost  equal  to  the  Maharaja  himself  Ramde'i  and 
the  children  are  in  a  small  house  in  the  village  of  Jan'di'.  She 
is  employed  as  a  menial  to  serve  De'va  Singh's  wives,  from 
whom  she  receives  a  scanty  maintenance.  The  house  in  which 
she  lives  is  in  full  view  of  De'va  Singh's  fort  and  of  his  judg- 
ment hall,  and  there  is  no  hope  of  her  ever  escaping." 

"  Does  any  one  there  know  that  you  went  to  see  Ramde'i  ?" 
inquired  Mr.  Scott. 

"  Know  it  ? "  said  Ka'lu.  "  No  sooner  had  I  inquired  for 
Ramde'i  than  the  rumor  was  bruited  abroad,  far  and  wide, 
"  Kana'ya  has  come."  De'va  Singh  himself  summoned  me 
peremptorily  into  his  presence,  and  catechised  me  sharply 
with  many  inquiries.  He  sard,  '  Who  art  thou  ?  Whence 
comest  thou  ?  What  errand  brings  thee  here  ? '  and  he  asked 
me  many  such  questions." 

"And  then?"  inquired  one  from  among  the  group,  who  were 
all  listening  with  breathless  attention. 

"  Well  I  replied  that  I  was  related  to  Ramde'i,  and  that  her 
•sister  was  my  wife.  Then  he  questioned  me  very  keenly,  and 
said,  'Art  thou  sent  hither  by  her  friends? '  " 


THE    MISSING    FAMILY.  28 1 

"  How  did  you  answer  that,  Ka'lu  ?  "  inquired  Mrs.  Clement. 

"  What  could  I  say  to  that,  Bi'b'i  J'i  ?  Of  course  I  said,  '  No, 
I  am  not  sent  by  them;'  and  I  added,  'I  have  not  seen  Ram- 
de'i  for  a  long  time,  and  have  come  on  a  friendly  visit'  " 

"And  why  do  you  think  there  is  no  hope  ?  "  said  Kana'ya. 

"  I  think  so,  and  I  am  sure  of  it,"  replied  Ka'lu  ;  "  for  De'va 
Singh  said  to  me  when  I  was  leaving — and  when  he  said  it  he 
looked  as  fierce  as  a  tiger — '  Go  and  tell  Kana'ya  that  if  ever 
he  come  hither,  so  sure  as  I  see  him,  I  will  shoot  or  behead  him, 
and  his  blood  will  be  upon  his  own  head.'  And  all  men  tell 
me  that  De'va  Singh  is  a  cruel  despot,  and  will  do  all  that  he 
threatens." 

When  Ka'lu  had  finished  his  report,  the  Scott  garh  com- 
munity was  so  overwhelmed  with  sorrow  that  for  some  time 
no  one  felt  like  saying  a  word.  After  a  time  Mr.  Scott  broke 
the  silence  by  saying,  "  Now  we  know,  Ka'lu,  that  you  are  a 
man  of  your  word,  and  will  surely  fulfil  your  promise  to  us  in 
regard  to  your  son  Piya'ra." 

It  is  impossible  to  tell  how  it  happened;  but  the  secret  be- 
gan very  soon  to  leak  out.  Whether  it  was  repeated  by  some 
imprudent  member  of  the  Scott  garh  community,  or  circulated 
by  some  one  who  came  down  from  Jan'd'i,  or  allowed  to  leak 
out  from  Ka'lu's  own  house,  we  cannot  tell ;  but  the  situation 
of  affairs  was  known  to  every  one  in  the  vicinity  of  Scott  garh, 
Zafarwal'  and  Na'ya  Find,  within  a  few  days  after  Ka'lu's  re- 
turn from  Jan'di,  and  was  tauntingly  cast  up  to  every  one 
who  went  forth  to  preach  :  "Pd'dr'i  Sd'hibl'  said  the  heathen  in 
derision,  "  talks  of  getting  back  those  children  !  He  says  the 
children  will  come  first.  He  says  God  will  give  them  back  to 
Kana'ya.  But  how  can  such  a  thing  be?  The  moment  you 
go  near  the  fort  of  De'va  Singh  he  will  shoot  you,  or  cut  ofif 
your  head  with  a  sword :  and  dare  you  make  the  attempt?" 

These  things  were  spitefully  spoken  to  the  preachers  and 
Christians  wherever  they  went;  but  Mr.  Scott  and  his  com- 
panions continued  to  hope  and  pray,  and  say,  "  God  will  bring 
them  back,  and  first  of  all  the  children;  this  we  confidently 
believe." 


CHAPTER    XXII. 

VISIT    TO    THE   tiger's    DEN, 

KANA^YA  PROPOSES  GOING  TO  JA^MU  IN  PERSON  TO  PETITION  THE  MAHA- 
RAJA OF  KASHMIR  FOR  HIS  CHILDREN — CHRISTIANS  OPPOSE  THE  PRO- 
JECT AS  TOO  HAZARDOUS — REV.  SCOTT  ENCOURAGES  IT — KAUDE  SHAH 
TO  ACCOMPANY  KANA^YA — THEIR  OUTFIT  FOR  THE  TRIP — DANGER  OF 
TAKING  CHRISTIAN  BOOKS  INTO  THE  KINGDOM  OF  KASHMIR — A  RE- 
MARKABLE PEDESTRIAN — IN  THE  ELEPHANT  STABLES  OF  THE  KING  AT 
JA^MU — ANXIOUS  THOUGHTS — "WHENCE  CAME  THIS  BOOK?" — KAN- 
A^YA  RIDING  DEVA  SINGH'S  OWN  ELEPHANT  IN  THE  STREETS  OF  THE 
CAPITAL — VISIT  TO  ANOTHER  PARTY  OF  ELEPHANT  KEEPERS — "SHUT 
NOW  YOUR  BOOK  IF  I  AM  A  LIAR  " — HOW  A  PETITIONER  MUST  PROCEED 
AT  THE  COURT  OF  THE  MAHARAJA — KANA^YA  INTRODUCED  TO  THE 
COURT — THE  TWO  JUDGES  OF  THE  SUPREME  COURT  OF  KASHMIR — KAN- 
A^YA  PETITIONS  FOR  HIS  CHILDREN — "YOU  HAVE  BECOME  A  CHRIS- 
TIAN!"— THE  IRATE  JUDGES — OLD  MEMORIES  REVIVED — "WHAT  HAVE 
YOU  FOUND  IN  THE  CHRISTIAN  RELIGION?" — "WE  ARE  COMMANDED 
TO  KILL  KAFFIRS  WHEREVER  WE  FIND  THEM" — AFRAID  TO  SPEAK  OR 
EVEN  TO  MOVE — URGED  TO  ANSWER  FOR  HIS  CHRISTIAN  FAITH — "NOW 
LET  HIM  SPEAK;  GIVE  HIM  A  FAIR  HEARING" — KANA^YA'S  SPEECH  TO 
THE  JUDGES  IN  PRESENCE  OF  AN  EXCITED  CROWD — "AWAY  WITH 
THESE  men!  THRUST  THEM  FORTH  FROM  THE  CITY !  " — THE  JUDGE'S 
WARNING — "WHAT  OF  MY  CHILDREN?" — KIND  TREATMENT  FROM  THE 
GUARDSMAN — SCENE  IN  THE  REST-HOUSE — THE  ANGRY  FAKIR^ — RE- 
TURN TO  SCOTT  GARH. 

THREE  months  had  passed  away  after  the  events  last  nar- 
rated; the  effort  to  colonize  Christians  at  Scott  garh  was 
at  its  height,  and  Mr.  Scott,  Mr.  Clement,  Kana'ya,  and 
Bhaj'na,  and  several  other  Christian  families,  were  there.  They 
had  met  together  one  evening  foi*  prayer  as  usual,  and  were 
conversing  on  the  same  absorbing  subject  which  had  so  long 
and  so  deeply  interested  them,  and  which,  instead  of  passing 
into  oblivion  through  the  lapse  of  time,  was  day  by  day  in- 
creasing in  painful  interest.     Kana'ya,  seeing  no  way  of  recov- 

(282) 


VISIT   TO   THE   tiger's    DEN.  283 

ering  his  family  from  exile  and  bondage,  had  been  feeling  sor- 
rowful and  depressed  in  spirit;  but  that  evening  he  rose  up  as 
a  man  will  often  do  when  some  new  thought  revives  expiring 
hope,  and  said:  "Brethren,  I  will  go  up  to  Ja'mu,  the  capital 
of  Kashmir',  and  present  my  petition  to  the  king  himself. 
What  do  you  counsel?" 

Against  this  course  there  was  a  general  and  decided  outcry 
from  all  the  Christians,  old  and  young,  male  and  female. 

"No  matter,"  said  they,  "if  Jan'd'i  is  nearly  forty  miles  from 
Ja'mu,  and  the  road  rough  and  mountainous,  De'va  Singh  is 
nevertheless  very  often  in  Ja'mu  itself,  and  is  continually  rid- 
ing to  and  fro.  He  ranks  well  with  the  king,  and  wicked 
tyrant  as  he  is,  he  fulfils  his  threats.  Kana'ya  will  risk  his 
life  just  as  much  by  going  to  that  place  as  by  going  to  Jan'di, 
and  should  never  attempt  to  go  thither." 

Mr.  Scott,  who  had  not  joined  the  rest  in  opposing  Kana'ya's 
project,  but  was  silently  and  seriously  thinking  it  over,  said : 
"  You  hear  what  they  say,  Kana'ya ;  and  I  may  add  that  the 
distance  to  Ja'mu  is  about  thirty-seven  miles,  and  the  roads, 
unlike  many  here  made  by  the  English,  are  mere  by-paths, 
often  hard  to  find ;  and  far  more  important  is  the  fact  that  after 
you  enter  the  independent  kingdom  of  Kashmir',  a  few  miles 
from  this,  you  cannot  expect  the  same  protection  as  you  enjoy 
here  under  the  immediate  jurisdiction  of  the  English.  The 
MaJidrdjd,  who  has  the  power  to  put  men  to  death,  and  freely 
exercises  it  as  an  independent  ruler,  is  exceedingly  jealous  of 
foreigners  who  enter  his  territory;  and  worst  of  all,  he  offers 
no  protection  whatever  to  Christians  who  go  there  to  read  and 
publish  the  Gospel  to  his  subjects.  Now,  Kana'ya,  do  you  feel 
able  to  face  all  these  difficulties  ?  Can  you  take  your  life  in 
your  hand  and  brave  these  many  dangers?" 

With  the  humility  and  simplicity  of  a  little  child,  Kana'ya  an- 
swered :  "  Pa'dr'i  Sa'hib,  you  are  my  respected  teacher,  and  I  am 
a  learner.  You  went  to  Ka'bul  with  Bibles  when  the  Afghans 
were  ready  to  kill  you,  and  returned  again  safe  and  sound. 
Will  not  God  also  bring  me  back  alive?     I  believe  he  will." 


284  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Mr.  Scott  was  greatly  rejoiced  to  find  that  Kana'ya  had 
faith,  having  purposely  so  framed  his  questions  as  to  test  his 
faith;  and  rising  up,  he  enjoined  the  rest  of  the  company  to 
hold  their  peace,  saying:  "Let  him  go,  and  hinder  him  not. 
Commit  this  whole  matter  to  the  will  of  God.  I  now  have 
new  and  strong  hopes  that  God  will  fulfil  our  desire." 

Kau'de  Shah,  Mr.  Scott's  servant,  who  had  become  warmly 
attached  to  the  Christians,  was  a  brave  young  man,  and 
though  still  a  Muhammadan  by  profession,  enjoyed  the  confi- 
dence of  the  Christians  of  Scott  garh  almost  as  though  he 
were  one  of  themselves.  Kana'ya,  when  preparing  to  start  for 
Ja'mu,  said  to  Mr.  Scott:  "Give  me  Kau'de  Shah;  he  will  be 
of  great  use  to  me.  And  if  anything  serious  happens  to  me,  he 
will  be  able  to  bring  you  tidings.  Give  me  also  four  books, 
viz :  a  GiirmukJii  New  Testament,  a  Roman  Urdu  New  Testa- 
ment, a  Roman  Urdu  copy  of  the  Book  of  Psalms,  and  a  little 
book  of  select  Scripture  verses." 

When  books  were  mentioned  by  Kana'ya  as  a  part  of  his 
outfit,  a  number  of  the  Christians,  who  had  not  as  strong  faith 
as  some  others,  objected  most  decidedly.  "  It  will  be  danger- 
ous, Kana'ya,"  said  they,  "to  take  these  Christian  books  with 
you  into  the  kingdom  of  Kashmir';  they  are  forbidden  by  the 
king,  and  will  be  the  means  of  your  death." 

"  But,"  said  Kana'ya:  "If  I  cannot  take  the  books  with  me, 
I  will  not  go  at  all ;  I  will  take  the  books." 

The  objectors  then  appealed  to  Mr.  Scott  for  his  judgment 
on  this  important  question,  which  he  promptly  gave  in  these 
words :  "  By  all  means  let  Kana'ya  take  the  books." 

The  brethren  "of  little  faith"  then  urged  strongly  that  Kan- 
a'ya should  not  go  at  all;  but  Mr.  Scott  again  bade  them  hold 
their  peace,  and  cease  to  hinder  or  discourage  him  in  any  way. 

Kana'ya  now  tied  his  four  books  up  in  a  bundle,  which  he 
proposed  to  carry  in  his  hand.  Then,  giving  Kaude  Shah  a 
Roman  Urdu  primer  from  which  he  had  been  teaching  him 
the  letters,  he  said,  "Take  this  along  in  your  own  bundle, 
Kaude  Shah;   and  here  is  a  copy  of  the  book  of  Acts,  take  it 


VISIT   TO    THE   tiger's    DEN.  285 

too;  after  I  have  taught  you  all  that  is  in  the  primer,  this  will 
be  your  first  reading-book."  Thus  equipped  and  ready  for  an 
early  start  next  morning,  Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah  retired 
for  the  night. 

The  reader  will,  perhaps,  infer  from  some  things  said  of 
Kana'ya  that  he  was  a  good  pedestrian,  and  the  inference 
would  be  correct.  He  owned  no  horse  or  other  means  of  con- 
veyance, always  making  his  journeys  on  foot.  He  has  repeat- 
edly walked  from  Zafarwal'  to  my  house,  a  distance  of  forty- 
two  miles,  starting  about  the  middle  of  the  forenoon,  arriving 
on  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  and  showing  no  signs  of 
fatigue.  Those  who  have  often  traveled  with  him  say  that  he 
sometimes  takes  a  nap  on  the  road  without  ever  halting. 

The  morning  after  the  preparations  just  described,  he  and 
Kaude  Shah  bade  good-bye  to  the  group  of  anxious  friends 
at  Scott  garh,  and  by  sunset  entered  Ja'mu,  where  they  sought 
and  found  a  lodging  place  in  one  of  the  king's  stables,  in  which 
nine  elephants  were  kept  for  the  pleasure  of  the  magnates  of 
the  kingdom.  In  this  stable  were  twelve  malia'zvats — all  Ma- 
hammadans — whose  only  business  was  to  attend  upon  the  ele- 
phants ;  and  Murad'  Bakhsh,  the  Sarddr'  (head  servant)  of  the 
twelve,  was  a  relative  of  Kau'de  Shah. 

Many,  indeed,  were  the  anxious  thoughts  that  filled  Kana' 
ya's  mind  that  night.  A  stranger  far  from  home,  in  the  coun- 
try of  a  heathen  despot,  to  a  great  extent  ignorant  of  the  laws 
and  of  the  people — in  all  that  kingdom  alone  on  Christ's  side, 
and  an  illiterate  peasant,  without  money  or  influence;  yet  must 
he  face  the  wise  and  learned,  the  noble  and  proud,  the  power- 
ful and  despotic  magnates  of  a  foreign  capital,  on  legal  busi- 
ness, the  issue  of  which  was  to  him  of  vast  importance.  The 
two  great  questions  which  were  uppermost  in  his  mind  were: 
"  How  can  I  get  my  wife  and  children?"  and,  "  How  shall  I 
answer  when  men  question  me  as  to  my  faith  ?  " 

According  to  Indian  custom,  those  twelve  elephant  keepers 
resided  in  the  stable  near  the  animals  committed  to  their 
charge.     Having  prepared  their  evening  meal,  they  invited 


286  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

KauMe  Shah  to  eat  with  them,  and  not  knowing  who  Kana'ya 
was,  invited  him  also.  But  Kana'ya  thanked  them,  and  said, 
"  Though  I  can  eat  with  you,  yet  you  would  not  like  me  to  do 
it,  for  I  am  an  Is'aH' 

"What  is  an  Isai?"  inquired  one  of  the  keepers  in  honest 
simplicity. 

"An  Isai"  answered  Kana'ya,  "is  one  who  believes  in  Isa 
(Jesus).  And  Isa  is  the  same  person  whom  you  Muhamma- 
dans  have  learned  from  your  Koran  to  call  RuJm-l-ldh  (Spirit 
of  God). 

Here  Kau'de  Shah  put  in  a  friendly  word  for  Kana'ya,  and 
said  to  them :  "  If  you  would  like  to  know  about  these  things, 
he  has  a  very  good  book  on  the  subject,  and  after  supper  you 
can  hear  him  read." 

"  Oh  yes,"  said  another,  "  I  once  lived  in  Labor,  and  know 
something  about  these  people."  And  turning  to  Kana'ya,  he 
asked,  "Are  you  not  a  Kird'ni?" 

"I  know  very  well,"  said  Kana'ya  good-naturedly,  "that 
you  don't  mean  any  disrespect;  but  it  is  not  proper  for  you  to 
speak  of  me  as  a  Kird'ni.  That  is  a  name  applied  to  us  only 
when  people  wish  to  revile  us.  We  bear  it  patiently,  however, 
and  do  not  get  angry.  But  I  am  an  Isdi,  a  believer  in  Jesus; 
this  is  the  right  word  to  use  when  speaking  of  us." 

This  conversation  by  which  Kana'ya  was  introduced  to 
these  humble  and  simple-minded  maJid'wats  on  his  arrival  at 
Ja'mu,  was  conducted  in  a  pleasant  temper  all  around,  nor  was 
this  good  humor  disturbed  in  the  least,  though  the  Muham- 
madan  hosts  cheerfully  consented  to  their  Christian  guest  sit- 
ting apart  and  eating  by  himself;  for  had  he  taken  advantage 
of  their  ignorance,  and  eaten  with  them,  they  would  have  been 
offended  on  discovering  afterwards  that  he  was  a  Christian. 
As  the  bread  which  he  had  brought  in  his  humble  pack  was 
dry  and  stale,  they  insisted  on  giving  him  some  of  their  own 
fresh  bread,  with  some  ddll  added  for  a  relish,  saying:  "You 
have  come  too  long  a  journey  to  fast  on  that  dry  stale  morsel." 

After  supper,  a  dim  light  was  made  in  one  corner  of  the 


VISIT   TO   THE   tiger's    DEN.  28/ 

stable,  and  the  eager  group  gathered  around  Kana'ya,  with 
intense  curiosity  to  listen  to  a  man  who  had  found  a  new  reli- 
gion, and  forsaken  that  of  his  fathers ;  for  nothing  is  so  self-evi- 
dent to  the  people  of  India,  before  their  old  ideas  are  disturbed, 
as  that  every  man  should  continue  firm  in  his  ancestral  faith. 

"  What  is  it  your  pleasure  that  I  should  discourse  of?  "  in- 
quired Kana'ya.  "  Perhaps  you  would  like  to  know  why  I 
became  a  Christian  ?" 

"Yes,  that  is  just  what  we  want  to  hear,"  responded  three 
or  four  voices. 

Kana'ya  untied  his  bundle  and  took  out  his  New  Testa- 
ment, but  before  opening  it  said,  "  Will  you  promise  not  to  be- 
come angry  if  I  read  to  you  ?  " 

"  By  no  means — we  will  not  be  angry  with  you,"  said  Kau'- 
de  Shah's  relative,  Sardar'  Murad'  Bakhsh,  with  whom  the  rest 
of  the  company  heartily  agreed. 

Kana'ya  then  read  from  Christ's  sermon  on  the  mount,  what 
is  written  about  the  law  applying  to  our  thoughts  and  desires, 
as  well  as  to  our  outward  actions.  Muhammadans  accept  the 
moral  law,  which  they  believe  applies  to  outward  actions  only. 
After  reading  for  some  time  Kana'ya  said,  "  He  who  gave  these 
words  came  from  heaven  to  save  us."  Then  turning  to  the 
third  chapter  of  John,  he  read  the  i6th,  17th  and  i8th  verses: 
"  God  so  loved  the  world,  that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son, 
that  whosoever  believeth  in  him  should  not  perish,  but  have 
everlasting  life.  For  God  sent  not  his  Son  into  the  world  to 
condemn  the  world ;  but  that  the  world  through  him  might  be 
saved.  He  that  believeth  on  him  is  not  condemned ;  but  he 
that  believeth  not  is  condemned  already,  because  he  hath  not 
believed  in  the  name  of  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God." 

When  this  passage  had  been  slowly  and  deliberately  read, 
and  well  understood,  the  interested  listeners  gave  a  general 
expression  of  hearty  approval  and  profound  admiration  of  these 
wonderful  sayings ;  one  of  them  remarking :  "And  we  also 
know,  from  our  own  religious  books  and  teachers,  that  Jesus 
ascended  up  to  the  seventh  heaven,  where  he  still  lives." 


288  ,  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

"Whence  came  this  book  ?"  inquired  one  of  the  group ;  "did 
it  rise  in  your  own  country — in  the  Panjab'?" 

"  No,"  answered  Kana'ya ;  "  it  started  away  far  beyond  the 
seas,  and  has  gradually  spread  through  all  countries — only  not 
yet  in  Ja'mu  and  Kashmir." 

"That  is  true,"  remarked  Sardar  Murad'  Bakhsh,  "there  is 
no  Imkam  (order)  from  the  Maharaja  for  preaching  it  here 
yet."*  And  addressing  Kau'de  Shah,  his  relative,  he  contin- 
ued: "This  new  religion  must  be  a  very  wonderful  thing — 
yes,  wonderful  indeed,  when  any  man,  no  matter  who  he  is,  is 
willing  to  leave  his  own  religion  for  the  sake  of  this  one, 
though  all  the  world  in  consequence  will  curse  him  and  revile 
him." 

Murad'  Bakhsh  then  ordered  beds  for  his  guests,  and  said 
to  them:  "  It  is  now  twelve  o'clock,  and  you  are  surely  tired; 
take  your  rest,  and  to-morrow  night  we  must  hear  some  more." 

The  two  travelers,  notwithstanding  their  long  wearisome 
journey,  and  the  lateness  of  the  hour,  did  not  wish  to  retire 
until  they  should  make  known  their  errand. 

"  We  have  come  to  Ja'mu  on  a  certain  business','  said  KauMe 
Shah,  at  the  same  time  beckoning  Kana'ya  to  explain;  where- 
upon Kana'ya  briefly  told  the  story  of  his  wife  and  children 
being  taken  away  to  Jan'di  on  his  becoming  a  Christian,  and 
asked  the  party  whether  they  knew  of  any  way  by  which  he 
could  claim  his  children  from  the  Ja'mu  Government. 

The  little  which  these  humble  stable-men  had  learned  about 
the  Christian  religion,  had  prepared  them  to  take  a  deep  inter- 
est in  Kana'ya's  case,  and  without  exception  they  all  sympa- 
thized warmly  with  him  in  his  trouble.  Sardar  Murad'  Bakhsh 
remarked:  "This  is  a  very  weighty  case;  it  is  the  most  diffi- 
cult of  all  kinds  of  cases,  for  it  is  about  religion.  They  will 
never  give  up  the  children;  at  least  that  is  my  opinion.  I  will 
take  you  up  to  the  court-house  in  the  morning  to  see  what  can 
be  done;  but  we  must  now  lie  down  and  sleep." 

*  Oriental  kings  assume  the  control  of  religious  affairs  as  well  as  of  civil  and 
military — so  much  so,  that  "  no  hukam^'  is  equivalent  to  "  forbidden." 


VISIT   TO   THE   tiger's    DEN.  289 

Whilst  the  viaJid'wats  were  busied  with  their  accustomed 
morning  work,  Kana'ya  took  KauMe  Shah  aside  into  a  vacant 
room,  and  prayed  the  Lord  to  dehver  him  from  the  hand  of 
his  oppressors,  and  restore  him  his  wife  and  children,  pleading 
that  he  himself  could  do  nothing,  and  was  very  helpless.  After 
beginning  the  day  with  this  short  but  suitable  prayer,  they 
stood  looking  at  the  busy  mah'd'wats  and  the  huge  elephants. 

The  Sarddr  called  Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah,  and  pointing 
to  an  enormous  beast  which  just  then  was  being  led  out  of  the 
stable  by  one  of  the  mah'd'wats,  remarked :  " Do  you  see  that 
splendid  elephant?  He  belongs  to  Salar  Deva  Singh,  com- 
mander of  the  Jan'di  fort,  and  you  shall  have  a  ride  on  his 
back." 

Now  elephants  are  kept  for  the  pleasure  of  kings  and  the 
nobility,  no  other  mode  of  riding  being  considered  so  honor- 
able and  luxurious  as  that  upon  an  elephant.  But  Kana'ya 
was  a  poor  petitioner,  a  helpless,  oppressed  and  afflicted  stran- 
ger in  a  strange  city,  a  plain  man,  and  a  lowly  despised  ^^  Ki- 
rd'nl."  He  therefore  instinctively  shrunk  from  the  high  honor 
proffered  to  him  by  his  friends,  and  said :  "  I  will  only  be  an 
object  of  ridicule,  and  will  get  myself  into  trouble,  if  I  am  seen 
on  an  elephant.     I  never  rode  on  one  in  all  my  life." 

"  No  danger,"  said  they,  placing  the  ladder  against  the  side 
of  the  elephant ;  "  we  will  take  you  around  to  see  the  '  big  city,' 
and  afterwards  tak'e  you  to  the  court  house ;  be  pleased  to 
mount,  and  seat  yourself  in  the  hau'dd." 

"  But  if  people  come  to  know  that  I  am  an  /sal,  perhaps  you 
may  get  into  trouble  on  my  account,"  objected  Kana'ya. 

"There  is  no  danger  whatever  of  that,"  insisted  Murad' 
Bakhsh ;  "  we  are  not  concerned  in  the  least.  Be  pleased  to 
get  up  and  take  a  seat  in  the  haii'dd,  and  let  your  mind  rest 
easy  as  to  the  result." 

Kana'ya  was  at  length  prevailed  upon  to  mount;  and  seated 

upon  the  very  beast  on  which  his  deadly  enemy,  De'va  Singh, 

was  accustomed  to  ride,  and  accompanied  by  three  elephants, 

he  was  in  this  honorable  manner  escorted  all  around  the  capi- 

19 


290  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

tol  to  "  eat  air,"  and  see  the  sights  of  the  "  big  city."  He  had 
not  yet  read  the  whole  of  the  Old  Testament,  else  would  he 
have  thought  of  Mordecai  riding  "  07t  Jiorseback  throitgli  the 
street  of  the  city'" — "  on  the  horse  that  the  king  rideth  upo7z,"  and 
must  have  felt  assured  that  his  God  would  yet  deliver  him 
from  that  modern  Haman,  De'va  Singh. 

In  the  city  of  Ja'mu  there  was  another  elephant  stable,  over 
which  one  Amir'  Bakhsh  was  the  Sarddr.  This  man  being 
well  educated,  Murad'  Bakhsh  deemed  it  wise,  before  going  to 
the  court  house,  to  discuss  with  him  Kana'ya's  prospects,  and 
to  consult  him  as  to  the  best  method  of  procedure.  The  four 
elephants  were,  therefore,  soon  kneeling  at  the  door  of  Sardar 
Amir  Bakhsh,  where  the  excursion  party  descended  from 
iki€\xhaii'das.  Mats  being  spread  in  Amir'  Bakhsh's  court,  the 
company  were  politely  invited  to  seat  themselves.  Murad' 
Bakhsh,  introducing  Kana'ya  to  Amir'  Bakhsh  as  an  Isdi,  told 
him  the  particular  business  on  which  they  had  called. 

"  What  is  an  Iscii  ?  "  inquired  Amir'  Bakhsh,  somewhat  un- 
graciously, and  not  very  mildly. 

Murad'  Bakhsh  said,  "  You  can  ask  him,  and  he  will  tell  you 
all  about  it  very  nicely;  only  do  not  become  excited,  please. 
He  was  reading  to  us  at  the  other  stable  last  night,  and  his 
words  were  very  good  indeed." 

"  Tell  me  now,"  said  Amir'  Bakhsh  to  Kana'ya,  "why  you 
ever  were  so  foolish  as  to  become  a  Christian." 

"  I  will  tell  you,"  replied  Kana'ya.  "  Ever  since  I  was  a  child, 
my  father's  house  was  open  to  maid' avis,  pan'dits,  sai'yads, 
fakirs' ,  and  all  other  kinds  of  religious  teachers,  who  were  al- 
ways hospitably  and  freely  entertained  whenever  they  came. 
From  the  age  of  twelve  years  I  was  accustomed  to  serve  them 
with  food,  and  supply  them  with  lodging  and  presents ;  and  to 
ask  of  them  in  return  :  '  How  can  I  escape  from  the  wrath  to 
come  ?'  But  in  every  case  their  sole  object  in  coming  to  us 
was  to  obtain  bread,  and  after  being  well  fed,  they  always  gave 
the  answer  that  they  could  not  inform  me." 

Here  Amir'  Bakhsh  interrupted  Kana'ya  impatiently  and 


VISIT   TO    THE   TIGERS    DEN.  29 1 

spitefully:  "  Have  you  found  it  out  yet?  Have  you  ^(?/ sal- 
vation ?  " 

"  I  am  able  to  explain  fully  to  you,"  said  Kana'ya,  deliber- 
ately; "if  only  you  will  keep  cool,  and  not  become  angry." 

Mr.  Clement  and  Mr.  Scott  had  instructed  Kana'ya  when  he 
was  starting  to  be  very  cautious,  especially  in  regard  to  his 
books,  and  to  use  them  only  in  private,  because  their  use  in 
public  was  forbidden  by  the  king,  and  might  subject  him  to 
severe  punishment.  He  was  therefore  always  particular,  before 
opening  his  New  Testament,  to  require  a  promise  of  his  hear- 
ers not  to  become  angry,  and  thus  put  them  upon  their  honor. 

After  Amir'  Bakhsh  had  promised  very  positively  that  he 
would  not  become  angry,  Kana'ya,  taking  his  New  Testament 
from  his  bundle,  and  holding  it  up  in  his  hand,  said,  "  The  way 
of  salvation  is  taught  in  this  book,  and  if  you  permit  me  I  will 
read  one  or  two  verses." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Amir'  Bakhsh,  "proceed." 

"Before  I  begin,"  said  Kana'ya,  "please  answer  me  one 
question:  "  Do  you  know  how  Isd  came  into  this  world?" 

"I  know  very  well,"  answered  Amir'  Bakhsh;  "He  was 
born  of  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  he  ascended  alive  into  heaven." 

"Yes,"  said  Kana'ya,  "that  is  all  right  as  far  as  it  goes,  and 
I  will  read  here  in  the  New  Testament  where  it  is  explained 
more  fully."  Then  turning,  as  he  had  done  the  night  before,  to 
John  iii.  16,  he  read:  "For  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he 
gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth  in  him 
should  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.  For  God  sent  not 
his  Son  into  the  world  to  condemn  the  world;  but  that  the 
world  through  him  might  be  saved.  He  that  believeth  on 
him  is  not  condemned ;  but  he  that  believeth  not  is  con- 
demned already,  because  he  hath  not  believed  in  the  name  of 
the  only  begotten  Son  of  God."  In  reading  these  verses 
Kana'ya  laid  special  emphasis  on  the  words,  "  he  that  believeth 
not  is  condemned  already^'  and  then  added,  "  If  Jesus  had  not 
come  into  the  world  all  men  must  have  perished ;  no  one 
would  have  been  saved." 


292  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

These  words  fairly  implied  that  faithful  Muhammadans  were 
not,  as  they  confidently  believe,  on  the  sure  road  to  Paradise. 
The  wrath  of  Amir^  Bakhsh  was  in  a  moment  all  ablaze,  and 
he  exclaimed  in  a  loud  tone  of  voice,  "Are  we  Muhammadans 
then  all  deserving  of  hell?  Has  our  prophet  Muhammad  not 
written,  that  if  we  repent  our  sins  will  be  forgiven  ?" 

"  It  is  also  written  in  your  Koran,"  said  Kana'ya,  "  that  if 
you  miss  one  of  the  five  daily  prayers,  which  are  prescribed 
by  Muhammad,  you  will  be  punished  for  a  long  period  in  hell; 
have  you  always  repeated  those  five  prayers  daily,  without  ever 
missing  one?" 

At  this  rejoinder  Amir'  Bakhsh  exhibited  still  greater  anger, 
when  Kana'ya,  turning  to  Kau'de  Shah,  said,  "  Do  you  see, 
Kau'de  Shah?  He  gave  me  permission  to  read,  and  promised 
that  he  would  not  get  angry ;  but  now,  when  I  have  read  ever 
so  little,  you  see  how  angry  he  is.  Does  this  not  raise  a  doubt 
in  your  mind  as  to  the  truth  of  your  Muhammadan  religion?" 

Amir'  Bakhsh,  now  no  longer  maintaining  even  the  formality 
of  logical  disputation,  allowed  his  temper  to  obtain  the  mas- 
tery, and  said  petulantly,  "  Well,  shut  now  your  book,  if  you 
think  I  am  a  liar." 

Kana'ya  then  changed  the  subject,  and  began  to  make  in- 
quiries as  to  how  he  should  proceed  in  his  efforts  to  recover 
his  children:  "Before  whom,"  said  he,  "shall  I  make  my  peti- 
tion?" 

Amir'  Bakhsh  answered  rudely,  "  You  may  petition  or  not, 
just  as  you  please;  your  children  will  in  no  wise  be  given  to 
you.  But,  on  the  contrary,  just  as  soon  as  your  errand  to 
Ja'mu  is  known  to  the  king,  you  will  be  punished." 

Kana'ya  then  rose  up,  and,  after  politely  asking  Amir' 
Bakhsh's  permission  to  leave,  made  his  saldm'  and  departed. 

Murad'  Bakhsh  again  invited  Kana'ya,  with  his  companion, 
to  mount  De'va  Singh's  fine  elephant,  and  determining  to  do 
for  him  the  best  in  his  power,  turned  the  noble  animal's  head 
toward  the  court-house,  explaining  by  the  way  how  one 
should  proceed  in  going  to  court  in  Ja'mu ;  for  Kana'ya  had 


VISIT   TO   THE   TIGERS    DEN,  293 

let  it  be  known  that  his  mind  was  filled  with  many  anxious 
thoughts  about  stamped  paper,  petition  writers,  policemen, 
orderlies,  court  officials,  fees,  and  an  endless  routine,  as  in  the 
courts  of  British  India. 

"  There  is  not  much  of  this  in  Ja'mu,"  said  Murad'  Bakhsh ; 
"it  is  very  simple  here.  There  are  two  judges — a  Hindu  and 
a  Muhammadan.  They  sit  elevated  above  the  common  peo- 
ple, upon  a  high  platform — higher  than  a  man's  head — with  all 
their  clerks  and  other  assistants  sitting  about  them  on  the  floor 
of  the  platform.  The  petitioners  and  all  the  crowd  of  common 
people  stand  in  the  large  area  below,  and  the  judges  sit  up 
there  to  hear  and  decide  cases.  If  any  man  has  a  case,  he  just 
walks  in  and  tells  his  own  story,  and  produces  his  witnesses, 
and  the  judges  listen  and  give  their  decision." 

By  the  time  these  matters  were  well  explained,  the  four  ele- 
phants were  kneeling  in  front  of  the  court-house,  where  Mu- 
rad' Bakhsh  left  them  in  charge  of  his  helpers,  to  await  the 
pleasure  of  any  of  the  great  men  who  might  require  them; 
then  conducting  Kana'ya  through  the  crowd  into  the  area,  he 
secured  the  attention  of  one  of  the  judges,  and  pointing  to 
Kan'aya,  said  to  the  judge:  "Your  Honor,  this  man  has  a 
case,"  after  which  he  immediately  stepped  aside,  leaving  Kan- 
a'ya to  speak  for  himself,  according  to  the  usage  at  the  Ja'mu 
court. 

Sai'yad  Gulam  Na'b'i  Shah  was  the  king's  Muhammadan 
Chief  Judge  in  civil  cases,  and  Pan'dit  Sim'bu  Partab'  his 
Hindu  Chief  Judge  in  the  same  class  of  cases,  the  latter  being 
better  qualified  to  decide  points  in  Hindu  law,  and  the  former 
in  Muhammadan  law.  For  the  sake  of  brevity,  I  will  use  only 
their  titles,  and  call  the  one  Sai'yad  and  the  other  Pan'dit, 
Both  of  these  men  had  received  a  thorough  course  of  educa- 
tion to  fit  them  for  their  high  and  responsible  positions,  and 
each  alike,  devoted  to  his  own  religion,  hated  the  very  name 
of  Christian.  The  Pan'dit,  before  whom  Kana'ya's  case  was 
necessarily  to  come,  was  a  heavy-set  native  gentleman,  about 
forty  years  of  age.     Notwithstanding  his  Brahminical  pride, 


294  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

and  his  excitable  temper,  there  was  nevertheless  expressed  in 
his  round,  ruddy,  good-humored  face,  a  shade  of  something 
which  at  least  resembled  Christian  culture  and  civilization. 

The  Sai'yad,  a  tall,  careworn,  overworked  man,  of  reserved 
manners,  wore  the  peculiarly  haughty,  scornful  expression  so 
often  to  be  seen  in  the  countenances  of  intolerant  Muhamma- 
dans.  This  judge  had  nothing  special  to  do  with  Kana'ya's 
case. 

As  soon  as  Kana'ya  had  been  introduced  by  his  friend,  Mu- 
rad  Bahksh,  the  Paii'dit  asked  him  whence  he  came,  to  which 
he  replied  that  he  was  from  the  District  of  Sial'kot. 

"What  is  your  case  in  this  court?"  lYiQ  Pa?i'dii  next  in- 
quired. 

"  My  children,"  replied  Kana'ya,  "  were  carried  off  to  the 
Mahdrdjas  dominions  after  the  English  court  in  Sial'kot  had 
decided  that  they  should  be  given  to  me.  Their  relatives  took 
them  away  from  my  village,  and  they  and  my  wife  are  de- 
tained at  Sdldr  De'va  Singh's  fort." 

The  Pan'dit  seemed  to  comprehend  at  once  the  whole  case, 
having  doubtless  heard  about  it  already;  even  while  he  lis- 
tened to  Kana'ya's  incomplete  explanation,  his  face  plainly  ex- 
hibited anger,  as  he  excitedly  demanded :  "  What's  the  reason  ? 
Your  children?  Under  what  circumstances  came  you  to  sue 
for  them?" 

Kana'ya,  as  he  stood  before  the  angry  judge,  attracting  also 
the  attention  of  every  one  in  the  court-room,  felt  altogether 
too  much  embarrassed  to  enter  upon  a  full  and  connected  ex- 
planation. Coming  at  once  to  the  main  point,  he  answered : 
"  I  had  become  a  Christian,  your  Honor." 

^'Become  a  CJiristian!"  exclaimed  the  Pan'dit,  at  the  same 
time  rising  up  from  his  seat  in  an  excited  manner,  and  mani- 
festing as  much  perturbation  as  if  he  had  suddenly  heard  the 
news  of  some  disgraceful  defeat  of  the  Mahdrdjas  army.  Dis- 
missing for  the  present  all  consideration  of  Kana'ya's  case — 
his  petition  for  his  children — the  Pan'dit,  looking  as  if  he  were 
ready  to  leap  upon  the  head  of  his  frightened  petitioner,  fiercely 


VISIT   TO    THE   TIGER  S    DEN.  295 

demanded:  "Why  have  you  become  a  Christian?  and  what 
Pd'drl  has  made  you  a  Christian  ?  I  have  power  and  author- 
ity to  beat  you,  and  bind  your  feet  with  a  rope,  and  drag  you 
out  of  the  city  and  cast  you  forth  headlong.  /  Jiave  the  power 
to  do  this." 

Whilst  this  wrathful  volley  was  being  showered  upon 
Kana'ya's  head  by  the  Pan'dit,  the  Sai'yad  also  growled  his 
hearty  assent,  and  the  multitude  of  common  people  below 
stood  mute  and  wondered. 

The  Pan'dit^  flattering  himself  that  he  had  sufficiently  anni- 
hilated his  poor  trembling  suppliant,  lowered  his  tone,  and 
added  in  a  patronizing  manner:  "You  just  give  this  thing  up 
now,  Kana'ya,  and  don't  so  much  as  mention  it  again."  So 
saying,  he  turned  away  to  attend  to  something  else. 

When  the  Pan'dit  had  finished  the  other  case,  he  turned 
again  to  Kana'ya,  who  continued  to  stand  waiting,  and  de- 
manded :  "  To  what  tribe  or  caste  of  Hindus  did  you  formerly 
belong?  and  by  what  Pd'drl  were  you  made  a  Christian?" 

"  I  belonged  formerly  to  the  weaver  caste  of  Hindus,  and 
was  taught  about  the  Christian  religion  by  Pci'dr'i  Scott." 

"  Pd'drl  Scott  ?  Pd'drl  Scott  ?  "  repeated  the  Pan'dit  reflect- 
ively, as  though  endeavoring  to  recall  some  half-forgotten 
event.  "  Of  what  caste  was  he,  and  how  many  brothers  had 
he?" 

"  They  were  from  the  Gn'jar  caste,"  said  Kana'ya,  "  and  I 
remember  the  names  of  only  three  of  them — Pd'drl  Swift,  Pd'- 
drl Scott,  and  La' Id  Harbha'jan." 

The  Pan'dit,  lowering  his  voice  now  almost  to  a  whisper, 
began  in  a  bewildered,  surprised,  and  somewhat  absent-minded 
manner,  to  repeat  the  names  of  Swift,  Scott,  Harbha'jan,  Dan- 
iel, and  continued:  "In  my  own  presence,  these  all  became 
Christians.  They  came  into  the  Ludhia^na  Mission  Orphan- 
age. They  were  crying  when  they  came.  And  I  was  serving 
at  that  time  as  a  teacher  in  the  mission  school." 

Kana'ya,  and  his  faithful  friend,  Kau'de  Shah,  who  all  the 
while  stood  by  his  side,  had  at  first  been  greatly  terrified  by 


296  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

the  Pan'difs  furious  manner  and  threatening  words ;  but  they 
began  to  feel  a  httle  more  at  ease  on  hearing  that  their  judge 
had  once  been  connected  with  a  mission  school ;  and  the  Pan'- 
dit  himself,  becoming  toned  down,  no  longer  seemed  the  fero- 
cious tiger  that  he  at  first  appeared. 

"  Now  tell  us,"  said  the  Pan'dit,  "  what  you  have  found  in 
the  Christian  religion,  and  what  you  have  gained  by  leaving 
the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  your  own  Hindu  religion,  which 
are  all  very  good." 

"Your  Honor  is  a  dispenser  of  justice,"  meekly  answered 
Kana'ya.  "  You  have  great  authority  and  power ;  and  if  I 
speak  to  you  on  this  subject,  which  pertains  to  the  next  world, 
you  will  be  unwilling  to  tolerate  it.  It  is  better  that  I  should 
be  silent." 

Just  here  the  Sai'yad  put  in  a  word,  and  addressing  Kana'- 
ya,  said,  "  When  you  zuerc  making  a  change  in  your  religion, 
it  had  been  well  with  you  to  become  a  Muhammadan  ;  but  in- 
stead of  that  you  have  become  a  kd'jftr,  and  we  have  a  com- 
mandment from  the  Koran  to  kill  all  kd'firs  wherever  we  find 
them." 

These  words  were  uttered  by  the  Sizi'yad,  accompanied  by 
a  look  and  tone  which  made  Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah  think 
it  quite  possible  that  he  might  do  what  he  had  both  the  power 
and  the  will  to  do.  The  two  angry  judges  looking  down  upon 
Kana'ya  seemed  unable  to  withdraw  their  attention,  and  the 
eyes  of  the  crowd  in  the  area,  to  the  number  of  a  thousand  or 
more,  were  fastened  upon  him  as  he  stood  alone  in  the  midst 
of  the  throng,  trembling  and  fearing  to  speak  or  move;  whilst 
his  friend  Kau'de  Shah,  who  stood  a  little  way  off,  quaked  for 
him. 

The  Pan'dit  began  again  to  question  Kana'ya  very  impa- 
tiently, "  What  have  you  gained  by  your  change  ?  Why  have 
you  deserted  your  own  religion?  Truly,  you  have  done  a  very 
wicked  thing." 

Kana'ya  held  up  his  hands  deprecatingly,  like  a  child  that 
has  been  browbeaten  and  intimidated  until  it  is  afraid  either 


VISIT   TO   THE   TIGERS    DEN.  29/ 

to  speak  or  to  keep  silence,  and  said  in  a  meek  and  humble 
manner:  "  May  it  please  your  Honors,  you  are  great  and  pow- 
erful judges,  and  I  am  helpless  in  your  presence.  If  you  will 
promise  that  you  will  not  become  angry  with  me,  I  will  an- 
swer you,  and  cause  you  to  hear  the  little  I  have  to  speak.  If 
you  become  angry  with  me,  then  will  I  not  be  able  to  speak  to 
you.  If  therefore  you  should  feel  anger  beginning  to  rise  in 
your  hearts  when  I  speak,  please  only  command  me  to  cease, 
and  I  will  be  silent." 

All  the  busy  mun'sliis,  itd'zirs,  and  other  employees  of  the 
court,  of  whom  many  were  sitting  on  the  platform,  had  by 
this  time  become  deeply  interested  in  what  was  going  on  be- 
tween Kana'ya  and  the  judges,  and  had  laid  aside  their  pens 
and  papers  to  listen.  The  touching  pathos  of  the  little  speech 
of  that  humble,  illiterate,  friendless  man,  who  stood  alone 
in  the  area,  and  on  whom  hundreds  of  eyes  were  fixed,  had 
sent  a  wave  of  kindly  sympathy  over  many  hearts,  and  a  num- 
ber of  voices  from  the  platform  were  heard  saying  to  the 
judges,  "  Let  him  speak,  and  give  him  a  fair  hearing." 

Then  Kana'ya  stood  forth,  and  said :  "  From  my  early  boy- 
hood I  sought  without  ceasing  after  salvation;  from  many 
Hindu  religious  teachers  whom  I  served  in  my  father's  house 
I  sought  it,  and  never  found  it.  In  the  same  way  I  searched 
for  it  at  the  hand  of  Muhammadan  religious  teachers,  but 
found  it  not.  As  are  the  Hindus  so  are  the  Muhammadans — 
both  alike  unable  to  reveal  the  way  of  salvatioiji — but  now  I 
have  found  it." 

"Show  it  then!  where  is  it?"  was  impatiently  demanded  by 
both  the  judges. 

"  I  can  show  it,"  responded  Kana'ya  confidently,  as  he  be- 
gan to  warm  up  a  little  and  grow  more  self-possessed ;  **  it  is 
right  here — I  have  it  with  me." 

"  Very  well,  make  it  appear,  then,"  said  both  of  the  judges. 

Kana'ya  then  began  to  lay  out  his  discourse  somewhat  me- 
thodically, thus:  "There  are  two  things.  First,  there  is  one 
thing  in  my  heart — this  is  of  great  price ;  if  you  desire  to  hear 


298  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

about  it,  I  am  able  to  explain  it  by  word  of  mouth.  Then, 
secondly,  there  is  another  thing,  distinct  from  the  first,"  and 
pointing  to  his  New  Testament,  which  he  had  all  the  while 
under  his  arm  (for  he  had  no  place  where  he  could  safely  leave 
it),  he  said,  "  that  second  thing  is  in  this  book.'' 

"Very  well,  let  us  hear  what  it  is,"  said  the  judges.  "What 
is  written  in  that  book  ?  " 

"  If  only  you  will  not  get  angry,"  said  Kana'ya  again,  "  I 
will  cause  you  to  hear,"  and  producing  his  Roman  Urdu  Tes- 
tament, and  also  his  Gurmukh'i  Testament,  he  handed  the 
latter  up  to  the  Pan'dit,  who  was  well  versed  in  the  Gurmukh'i 
language.  Then,  opening  his  own  book  at  Mark  i.  i,  and 
finding  the  place  also  for  the  Pan'dit,  he  began  to  read.  Great 
excitement  prevailed  in  the  vast  concourse  of  people,  who 
surged  to  and  fro  and  thronged  about  Kana'ya,  pressing  him 
on  every  side.  It  was  not  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  common 
people,  but  an  eager  curiosity  to  hear  the  words  of  that  book, 
from  which  he  was  beginning  to  read  in  a  clear  voice  these 
words  :  "  The  beginning  of  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Son  of 
God!'  This  verse  announced  the  subject,  which  to  the  multi- 
tude was  new,  strange,  intensely  interesting  and  wonderful; 
but  grated  very  harshly  upon  the  ears  of  Sai'yad  Gulam'  Na'bi 
Shah;  since  the  Muhammadans,  like  the  Jews,  regard  it  as 
horrid  blasphemy  to  speak  of  Jesus  Christ  as  the  Son  of  God. 
As  verse  after  verse  was  read,  the  interest  of  the  crowd  in- 
creased, while  the  Pan'dit  and  the  Sai'yad  grew  more  and 
more  impatient  until  Kana'ya  reached  the  seventh  verse,  and 
read  these  words  :  "  There  cometh  one  mightier  than  I  after  me, 
the  latchet  of  whose  shoes  I  am  not  worthy  to  stoop  down  and 
unloose!'  Here  the  zealous  Sai'yad' s  patience  gave  out; 
for  Muhammadans  believe  that  John  the  Baptist  was  the 
greatest  of  all  the  ancient  prophets;  and  the  assertion  that 
Jesus  was  greater  was  a  heresy  which  he  could  not  tolerate. 
The  Pan'dit  also,  who  was  looking  painfully  on,  observing 
with  great  jealousy  the  intense  interest  of  the  common  people 
in  the  words  of  that  wonderful  book,  doubted  "  whereunto  this 


VISIT   TO    THE   TIGERS    DEN,  299 

would  grow ; "  and  at  the  end  of  the  seventh  verse  he  stopped 
the  reading,  and  said  to  Kana'ya,  "You  must  now  close  your 
book ;  but  you  are  permitted  to  speak  and  tell  us  what  is  in 
your  heart." 

By  this  time  Kana'ya  had  completely  lost  all  fear  of  man, 
and  the  Lord  had  given  him  courage  to  testify  boldly  for  his 
Saviour.  Like  all  Panjab'i  farmers,  accustomed  to  work  about 
their  noisy,  creaking  sugar-mills  and  Persian  wheels,  he  found 
no  difficulty  in  making  himself  well  heard  in  the  midst  of 
much  noise.  Closing  the  book,  as  he  was  ordered  to  do,  and 
taking  the  philosophical  precaution  to  require  once  more  what 
no  man  having  the  least  grain  of  self-respect  could  refuse — a 
promise  not  to  get  angry — he  proceeded  to  avail  himself  of  the 
privilege  of  telling  "what  was  in  his  heart."  Raising  his  voice 
to  a  loud  pitch,  he  said :  "  The  prophet  whom  you  people  call 
Yahiya,  is  the  very  same  that  we  call  John  the  Baptist.  You 
say  he  is  a  great  and  true  prophet  of  God,  and  we  agree  with 
you  in  this;  all  that  he  spake  is  true.  Now,  he  said  that  there 
was  another  person  going  to  appear  who  was  greater  than  him- 
self— so  much  greater  that  he  himself  was  unworthy  even  to 
stoop  to  unloose  that  person's  shoes.  But  who  was  that  per- 
son who  was  greater  than  John  ?  That  was  Fsa,  on  whom  we 
believe,  and  after  whom  we  are  called  Is'dis.  In  those  very 
days,  when  John  the  Baptist  was  preaching,  I'sa  appeared. 
He  plainly  said :  '  No  man  can  come  to  the  Father  but  by  me.' 
He  said :  '  I  am  the  door.'  And  he  said :  '  All  who  climb  up 
some  other  way — idolaters  and  such  like — are  thieves  and 
robbers,  and  will  not  find  God,  and  will  be  unable  to  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  heaven.'  The  name  of  him  who  spake  these 
words  is  Fsa.  He  is  that  very  sinless  incarnation  of  whom 
the  Hindus  say  that  he  will  come.  He  is  the  Saviour,  and 
there  is  no  salvation  in  any  other." 

The  Sai'yad  here  interrupted  Kana'ya  by  saying :  "  What 
has  I'sa  done  ?  What  have  you  seen  in  him,  that  you  believe 
in  him?" 

"  He  made  dead  men  live,  and  made  lepers  pure  and  clean," 


3CX)  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

was  the  prompt  reply,  "and  he  always  said:  '/  do  these 
works;  /am  the  door;  except  through  me  no  man  can  come 
to  God.' " 

"Can  not  owx gu'rus"  said  the  Pan'dit — "Can  not  our  pro- 
phet," said  the  Sai'yad — "  can  these  not  save  us  ?  Are  we  all 
doomed  to  hell?" 

Kana'ya's  testimony  concerning  Jesus  as  the  only  Saviour, 
leading  logically  to  the  conclusion  that  neither  Hindu  gii'rus 
nor  the  prophet  Muhammad  were  able  to  save  their  followers, 
was  extremely  galling  to  these  two  high  officials,  who  were 
not  in  a  fit  state  of  mind  to  listen  to  an  answer  to  their  ques- 
tions with  profit  to  themselves,  as  Kana'ya  well  knew;  but 
hundreds  of  common  people  were  eagerly  listening,  who  might 
be  benefited,  so  he  said  in  a  loud  voice :  "  Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  you  shall  be  saved.  If  you  do  not  believe 
in  him,  there  is  no  salvation  in  any  other.  All  others  who 
ever  came  were  sinners,  and  came  to  destroy  men ;  but  Jesus 
came  to  save  sinners ;  no  other  one  came  to  save  sinners  but 
Jesus,  and  he  can  save  you  if  you  but  believe  on  him." 

This  exciting  discussion  continued  for  some  time ;  but  Kan- 
a'ya's plain  and  direct  testimony  proved  most  irritating  to  the 
proud  Pan'dit  and  his  associate,  the  Sai'yad^  who  at  length 
again  angrily  ordered  him  to  close  his  book  and  keep  it  closed, 
strictly  charging  him  not  to  preach  these  words  to  any  one. 
Then  the  Pan'dit  called  a  soldier,  to  whom  he  said :  "  Take 
these  two  men  forth  out  of  the  city.  Every  one  who  hears 
their  doctrines  will  be  misled,  and  the  whole  city  will  be  per- 
verted." Then  turning  to  Kana'ya,  he  added :  "  If  you  teach 
these  things  and  any  person  assaults  you,  instead  of  punishing 
your  assailant  we  will  punish  you,  and  that  severely."  The 
soldier  then  ordered  them  to  accompany  him. 

Kana'ya  turned  toward  the  two  judges,  who  were  about  to 
resume  the  judicial  business  of  the  kingdom,  and  smiling — 
perhaps  at  the  ludicrous  idea  of  seeking  justice  at  their  hands 
— said :  "  According  to  the  commands  now  given  me,  I  will 
go  with  the  soldier ;  but  that  matter  of  justice  about  which  I 


VISIT   TO    THE   TIGERS    DEN,  3OI 

have  come  to  your  seat  of  judgment — my  children — what  an- 
swer am  I  to  receive  about  them?" 

The  Pan'dit  and  the  Sai'yad  were  both  so  excessively  zeal- 
ous to  answer  him,  that  they  drowned  each  other's  voices,  and 
each,  anxious  to  be  heard,  repeated  himself  several  times  with 
great  vehemence.  Had  their  answers  been  blended  into  a 
single  sentence,  it  would  have  been  about  as  follows : 

"  Concerning  the  recovery  of  your  children,  Kana'ya,  you 
may  most  assuredly — certainly — remain  hopeless,  without  the 
least  vestige  of  hope — entirely,  totally — for  never,  never,  shall 
you  in  any  way,  manner,  by  any  possible  means — be  able, 
possibly,  to  recover  your  children — never,  never,  never!" 

After  they  thought  they  had  answered  him  sufficiently,  they 
said  to  the  soldier  to  whose  charge  they  had  committed  him : 
"  Make  haste  now,  take  him  forth ;  let  him  not  tarry  within 
the  city  limits ! " 

These  untoward  proceedings  did  not  admit  of  Kana'ya  and 
Kau'de  Shah  being  escorted  from  the  court-house  by  their 
humble  friends,  the  mahd'wats,  in  the  same  honorable  manner 
in  which  they  had  been  borne  thither.  Nevertheless,  twelve 
of  the  common  people  who  had  become  decidedly  interested 
in  the  discussion  at  the  court-house,  followed  a  little  behind, 
taking  good  care  not  to  lose  sight  of  them;  whilst  the  soldier 
who  led  them  out  treated  them  with  the  utmost  politeness  and 
consideration.  Addressing  them  courteously,  he  asked  them 
where  they  intended  to  lodge,  and  added  sympathizingly :  "  It 
comes  into  my  heart  to  give  you  a  lodging-place  within  the 
city,  for  I  am  moved  with  pity  for  you ;  but  I  am  powerless  in 
this  thing,  because  of  strict  orders.  Nevertheless,  here  is  a 
rest-house  just  outside  of  the  city  and  near  by;  if  agreeable  to 
you,  you  can  stop  there.  This  is  not  according  to  my  orders, 
but  no  one  will  ask  any  questions." 

"Very  well,"  said  Kana'ya,  "we  will  rest  here  for  the  night, 
and  in  the  morning  we  will  depart." 

They  entered  the  rest-house,  which  was  but  a  single  room, 
and  seated  themselves  upon  mats  spread  for  them  by  an  old 


302  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

fakir' ,  who,  according  to  a  common  Indian  custom,  made  the 
rest-house  his  home,  keeping  ahve  a  smouldering  fire  for  the 
traveler's  hiikkd.  The  men  who  had  followed  from  the  court- 
house, sitting,  or  rather  squatting,  all  about  the  room,  eyed 
with  intense  curiosity  the  persons  and  movements  of  the  two 
men,  about  whom  they  had  just  witnessed  so  much  excite- 
ment. Kau'de  Shah  reached  for  the  long  stem  of  a  large 
huk'kd  belonging  to  the  rest-house,  and  began  to  refresh  him- 
self with  a  smoke,  just  as  any  Muhammadan  would  do  with  a 
huk'kd  used  in  common  by  other  Muhammadans.  Kana'ya 
•  at  the  same  time  took  from  his  bundle  for  his  own  use  a  small 
portable  huk'kd  made  of  a  cocoanut  shell. 

"  How  is  this  ? "  inquired  with  timid  curiosity  one  of  the 
dozen  lookers-on,  "  why  does  one  of  you  use  the  huk'kd  of 
this  dharmsd' la,  and  the  other  use  his  cocoanut  shell  ?  You 
both  seem  just  alike,  and  your  speech  agrees ;  what  secret  is 
there  in  this  ?  " 

"He  is  a  Muhammadan,"  said  Kana^ya,  pointing  to  Kau'de 
Shah,  "and  I  am  an  Isd'i — a  believer  on  Fsa." 

This  explanation  only  excited  the  man's  curiosity  still  more, 
and  after  taking  a  puff  or  two  himself  at  the  Muhammadan 
huk'kd,  he  drew  near,  and  seating  himself  beside  Kana'ya,  said 
in  a  gentle  and  respectful  but  very  inquisitive  manner :  "  We 
would  very  much  like  it  if  you  would  please  to  let  us  hear 
that — you  know — that  word,  which  you  were  preaching  there 
in  the  hall  of  judgment.  Here  you  can  explain  fully  and  par- 
ticularly, and  we  desire  to  know  all  about  it." 

Kana'ya,  putting  away  his  cocoanut  shell,  began  by  remark- 
ing very  deliberately :  "  Brothers,  you  have  seen  and  heard  all 
that  has  just  taken  place;  you  know  the  strict  orders  which 
the  judge  has  given  concerning  me,  and  you  know  that  you 
people  get  angry  very  readily.  Now,  if  for  a  few  minutes  you 
will  restrain  your  anger,  I  will  speak." 

The  whole  company  unanimously  agreed  without  the  least 
hesitation,  that  there  should  be  no  anger  on  their  part,  and 
that  they  would  listen  attentively  if  he  would  only  speak. 


VISIT    TO    THE   TIGERS    DEN.  3O3 

"  How  about  those  who  will  be  dropping  in  while  I  am 
speaking  ?  "  asked  Kana'ya,  who  foresaw  that  notwithstanding 
this  agreement,  others  might  afterwards  enter  the  dharmsd'la 
and  give  him  trouble. 

They  answered  that  all  new-comers  should  be  included  in 
the  agreement.  It  was  further  agreed,  at  Kana'ya's  request, 
that  if  a  dispute  should  arise  on  any  point,  it  must  be  referred 
to  KauMe  Shah,  who  was,  like  themselves,  a  Muhammadan, 
and  who  was  acquainted  with  the  teachings  of  the  Koran. 
There  was  just  one  weak  point  in  these  "peace  negotiations." 
The  old  fakir' ,  who  had  sole  authority  to  admit  guests  to  that 
place,  or  exclude  them  at  his  pleasure,  looking  sulky,  sat  back 
in  a  corner  of  the  room  unobserved  all  this  time,  without  com- 
mitting himself 

Kana'ya,  supposing  the  way  to  be  clear,  opened  the  New 
Testament,  and  read :  "  God  so  loved  the  world  that  he  gave 
his  only-begotten  Son — " 

"  Is  there  any  proof  that  Jesus  is  the  Son  of  God?"  inquired 
one  of  the  listeners,  who,  as  will  already  be  inferred,  were  all 
Muhammadans. 

Kau'de  Shah,  being  appealed  to,  according  to  the  agreement, 
said :  "  Yes ;  in  the  Koran  he  is  called  Rflhul-ldh,  which 
proves  his  Divine  nature.  Moreover,  the  Books  of  Moses, 
the  Psalms,  the  New  Testament,  and  the  prophetical  writings, 
all  declare  that  he  is  the  greatest  of  all  the  prophets,  and  is 
the  Son  of  God ;  and  these  books  constitute  the  whole  of  God's 
word." 

The  old  fakir' ,  who  all  the  while  had  been  attentively 
though  silently  listening  from  his  corner,  and  who  was  not 
bound  like  the  rest  to  restrain  his  anger,  went  off  with  a  sud- 
den explosion.  Kau'de  Shah  had  confessed  that  Jesus  was  the 
"  Son  of  God,"  and  confessed  his  faith  in  the  Bible  as  being  the 
whole  word  of  God,  without  so  much  as  mentioning  the 
Koran!  Such  "  horrid  blasphemies"  even  from  the  mouth  of 
a  Christian  were  bad  enough,  but  when  uttered  by  one  who 
professed  to  be  a  faithful  Muhammadan,  they  were  beyond  en- 


304  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

durance;  and  the  indignant  fak'iy^,  rising  up  in  pious  wrath, 
seized  the  Jmk'k'd  of  the  rest-house,  which  had  just  been  used 
by  Kau'de  Shah,  and  with  all  his  might,  dashed  it  to  pieces  on 
the  ground,  exclaiming  as  he  did  it:  ''He  too  is  become  a 
k'd'fir  !" 

Kana'ya's  little  audience,  feeling  their  responsibility,  and 
being  anxious  to  prevent  any  further  disturbance,  put  their 
hands  up  imploringly  before  his  Reverence,  the  fakir' ,  and 
begged  him  not  to  say  or  do  anything  to  the  strangers.  Kan- 
a'ya  good-naturedly  turned  away  the  old  fellow's  wrath  by 
soft  answers  and  conciliatory  deeds,  purchasing  a  new  huk'ka 
in  place  of  the  old  one,  and  humbly  begging  the  fakir's  per- 
mission to  lodge  in  the  rest-house  over  night,  after  which  he 
and  Kau'de  Shah  knelt  and  prayed,  as  their  custom  was,  before 
retiring,  and  lay  them  down  to  sleep. 

In  the  morning  Kana'ya,  with  his  friend,  Kau'de  Shah,  not- 
withstanding the  judge's  order  excluding  them  from  the  city 
limits,  visited  the  elephant  stable  to  bid  farewell  to  their  hos- 
pitable friends,  the  mahd'wats,  who  in  turn  gave  them  a  cor- 
dial invitation  to  come  to  their  quarters  in  the  stable  whenever 
they  should  again  visit  the  "big  city,"  after  which  the  pair  left 
for  Scott  garh. 

The  Christians  at  Scott  garh,  who  eagerly  assembled  that 
evening  to  hear  Kana'ya's  thrilling  account  of  his  adventures, 
whilst  greatly  delighted  to  learn  how  faithfully  Kau'de  Shah 
had  stood  by  their  Christian  brother,  were  more  than  ever 
distressed  at  what  appeared  to  many  of  them  the  utterly  hope- 
less future  of  Kana'ya's  struggle  to  obtain  possession  of  his 
family. 


CHAPTER   XXIII. 

kana'ya's  second  trip  to  the  Kashmir'  capital. 

ONLY  SOUNDING  YOU — INTERCESSORY  LETTER  TO  THE  JA^MU  COURT- 
SCOTT  CAUTIONS  KANA^'YA — THE  MAHARAJA'S  PROCLAMATION — A  KA- 
MANGAR  ENTERTAINS  KANA^YA  IN  JA^MU — LETTER  DELIVERED  TO  THE 
JUDGE — YOU  CANNOT  HAVE  YOUR  CHILDREN — "NO  FRIENDSHIP  IN  BUS- 
INESS"— PEARL  OF  GREAT  PRICE — A  DELUSION — "FORSAKE  JESUS  AND 
WE  WILL  CARE  FOR  YOU " — CAN  EXPLAIN  IF  YOU  WILL  NOT  BECOME 
ANGRY — LEARNED  JUDGES  CONFOUNDED — POPULAR  CURIOSITY — BRING 
A  HUKA.M — RETURN  TO  SCOTT  GARH — CONTINUED  PRAYER. 

WHEN  Kana'ya  returned  from  Ja'mu  and  did  not  find  Mr, 
Scott  in  Zafarwal',  he  started  for  Sial'kot  at  three  o'clock 
the  next  morning,  and  met  him  on  the  way  at  the  village  of 
Philau'ra.  Here  he  related  to  Mr.  Scott  the  whole  story  of 
his  trip  to  Ja'mu,  and  then,  manifestly  disheartened,  added: 
"  I  think  now,  Pd'dr'i  Sd'hib,  there  is  no  hope  of  my  ever  re- 
covering my  wife  and  children." 

Mr.  Scott,  after  thinking  the  matter  over,  and  considering 
particularly  Kana'ya's  depressed  state  of  mind,  said:  "Yes, 
Kana'ya,  j'ust  so;  you  had  better  give  them  up  now  and  ar- 
range for  another  marriage." 

Kana'ya  was  shocked,  and  staggering  back,  fell  to  the 
ground. 

"Why  do  you  take  it  so  seriously,  Kana'ya?"  said  Mr. 
Scott  on  the  instant,  "do  not  feel  hurt  or  grieved;  I  was  only 
trying  to  look  into  your  heart.  You  need  not  fear,  for  God 
will  regard  our  prayers." 

In  Sial'kot  there  dwelt  a  man  whom  the  king  of  Kashmir', 
whenever  transacting  business  with  the  Deputy  Commis- 
sioner's court  in  Sial'kot,  employed  as  his  attorney.  This 
man,  whose  name  was  Kutab  Din,  was  a  personal  friend  of 
20  ( 305 ) 


306  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Sai'yad  Gulam'  Na'bi  Shah,  one  of  the  two  judges  of  the 
MaJidrajas  court  in  Ja'mu.  It  was  thought  that  Kutab  Din 
might  possibly  be  induced  to  write  to  the  Sai'yad  and  inter- 
cede for  Kana'ya,  if  only  he  could  be  brought  to  feel  an  inter- 
est in  the  case.  Kana'ya  therefore  went  to  a  Christian  servant 
of  the  Deputy  Commissioner,  whose  name  was  John  Lewis, 
and  through  him  interested  Kutab  Din  in  his  case.  Kutab 
Din  then  wrote  a  letter  to  the  Sai'yad,  requesting  him  as  a 
great  favor,  and  on  personal  grounds,  to  restore  the  children 
to  their  father  if  possible,  and  gave  the  letter  into  Kana'ya's 
own  hand. 

Mr.  Scott  thought  it  necessary  to  give  Kana'ya  on  one 
point  a  friendly  caution.  Highly  approving  of  the  manner  in 
which  Kana'ya,  on  his  first  venture  into  Kashmir',  had  shut 
out  all  grounds  of  complaint  against  himself  by  putting  his 
hearers  on  their  honor,  he  nevertheless  feared  that  the 
brother  perhaps  hazarded  too  much  in  making  anything  more 
than  a  private  use  of  his  New  Testament.  The  Mahardjd  of 
Kashmir'  had  recently  taken  the  position  that  if  Christians 
should  open  their  religious  books  and  preach  from  them 
within  his  dominions,  and  should  be  assaulted  and  put  to 
death  for  so  doing,  he  would  take  no  notice  of  their  cases. 
Still  Mr.  Scott  did  not  feel  free  to  forbid  Kana'ya's  course,  and 
only  charged  him,  when  taking  leave  for  this  second  venture, 
to  take  no  step  without  prayer,  and  always  to  confess  Jesus 
Christ  without  reserve. 

And  now,  armed  with  Kutab  Din's  letter  as  a  new  weapon, 
encouraged  by  Mr.  Scott's  good  counsel,  and  receiving  from 
all  the  Christians  in  Sial'kot  and  Scott  garh  many  assurances 
of  their  sympathy  and  prayers,  Kana'ya,  accompanied  by  the 
faithful  Kau'de  Shah,  set  out  a  second  time  for  Ja'mu. 

On  reaching  the  Kashmir'  capital  they  went  to  the  rest- 
house,  in  which  they  had  spent  the  last  night  of  their  first  so- 
journ in  that  city.  The  reverend  fakir' ,  who  had  dashed  the 
htik'kd  to  pieces,  now  received  them  with  a  kindly  welcome, 
for  the  Christian  manner  in  which   Kana'ya  (and   I  may  also 


SECOND    VISIT   TO    THE    KASHMIR    CAPITAL,  3O7 

say  Kau'de  Shah)  had  met  his  angry  outburst,  had  modified 
his  feehngs  and  won  his  confidence,  and  he  was  unfeignedly 
glad  to  see  them  again.  Still,  lest  some  one,  either  voluntarily 
or  by  orders  fi-om  the  court,  might  make  an  assault  upon  them, 
they  deemed  it  prudent  to  avoid  so  public  a  place  as  this 
dharmsd'la  and  lodge  with  one  Al'lahdit'ta,  a  kamatisaz  (maker 
of  bows  and  arrows),  with  whom  KauMe  Shah  had  formed  a 
pleasant  acquaintance  during  their  first  visit,  and  by  whom 
they  were  now  hospitably  received. 

As  soon  as  the  court-house  was  opened  the  next  morning, 
they  entered  and  stood  in  the  presence  of  Sai'yad  Gulam'  Na'b'i 
Shah,  who  at  once  recognized  them,  and,  without  showing  any 
anger,  inquired,  "Have  you  really  returned?" 

Kana'ya,  instead  of  answering,  with  a  low  saldm' ,  handed 
him  Kutab  Din's  letter.  After  perusing  the  letter  leisurely, 
the  Sai'yad  calmly,  and  with  an  authoritative  air,  thus  ad- 
dressed Kana'ya :  "  In  kindness  to  you,  and  for  your  good,  I 
inform  you  that  if  the  Mahdrdja  or  De'va  Singh  should  learn 
that  you  have  forsaken  your  own  religion,  and  that  you  want 
your  children  in  order  to  initiate  them  also  into  your  new 
faith,  and  that  you  have  come  here  on  this  business,  you 
would,  without  doubt,  be  imprisoned  for  at  least  six  months, 
or  be  put  to  death  as  De'va  Singh  threatened."  Then,  grow- 
ing more  earnest,  he  added,  "And  know  most  certainly,  that  to 
obtain  your  children  in  any  way  is  an  utter  impossibility — yes, 
even  tlwiigh  the  heavens  should  be  turned  upside  down!' 

Pan'dit  Sim'bu  Partab',  who  by  this  time  had  entered  the 
court-room,  and  taken  his  seat  on  the  platform,  said  to  Kana'- 
ya, "  You  have  come  here  with  a  letter  from  our  respected 
friend  Kutab  Din,  but  in  such  a  case  as  this  you  can  thus  ac- 
complish nothing ;  this  is  no  friendship  matter.  If  you  wish 
to  succeed  you   must  bring  a  hiik'ani  (  a  government  order)." 

The  two  judges  followed  with  their  eyes  the  disappointed 
and  dejected  petitioner  as  he  walked  slowly  and  sadly  away; 
and  then,  confident  that  they  had  crushed  out  the  last  hope  of 
the  "  Kirdhii"  and  that  he  might  now  be  led  to  see  his  "  error," 


308  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

and  return  to  his  Hindu  religion,  they  called  him  back,  and 
said,  "A  word  or  two  with  you  about  that  *  thing  of  great  priced 
which  you  said  you  had  found — that  is  a  delusion,  Kana'ya. 
Have  you  not  sense  enough  to  consider  that,  were  it  a  reality, 
you  ought  to  be  happy  in  your  family  ?  But,  lo !  you  have 
lost  your  wife  and  children,  and  are  not  allowed  even  to  see 
them ;  your  father  and  friends  are  separated  from  you ;  and 
the  whole  world  loads  you  with  curses.  Now,  if  you  will  for- 
sake Jesus,  we  will  at  once  restore  to  you  your  family;  you 
need  not  even  return  to  your  village,  for  we  will  provide  for 
your  support  here." 

"  Oh,  sirs,"  said  Kana'ya,  earnestly  and  in  a  tone  of  respect- 
ful entreaty,  "  only  please  not  to  get  angry,  and  I  can  explain 
a  little  about  that." 

"  You  may  explain  then,  and  we  will  not  become  angry," 
said  the  two  men  of  authority,  mildly, 

"  In  this  Holy  Book,"  Kana'ya  proceeded  to  say,  as  he 
pointed  to  the  New  Testament  under  his  arm ;  "  this  very  book 
which  angered  you  before,  it  is  written.  If  a  man  shall  gain 
the  whole  world,  with  all  its  wealth  and  glory,  and  lose  his 
own  soul,  what  shall  it  profit  him  ?" 

Pan'dit  and  Sai'yad  looked  at  one  another  amazed  and  con- 
founded, and  again  addressing  Kana'ya,  said,  "  Repeat  that  and 
explain  it." 

"  The  explanation  of  it,"  said  Kana'ya,  "  is  this — and  I  wish 
your  Honors  to  hear  and  consider  it  very  attentively :  That 
same  Jesus,  whom  you  wish  me  to  deny,  has  said,  If  any  one 
confesses  me  before  men,  he  is  worthy  of  me ;  but,  if  any  one 
denies  me  before  men,  I  also  will  deny  him  before  my  Father 
who  is  in  heaven.  Now  we  all,  and  you  too,  ought  to  confess 
him,  because  he  is  the  Son  of  God  and  the  Saviour  of  men. 
If  our  wealth,  or  children,  or  even  life  itself,  should  be  taken 
from  us,  we  should  not  throw  away  our  souls.  If  my  life  must 
be  the  price,  I  will  neither  deny  Jesus  nor  forsake  him." 

The  Pan'dit  had  heard  the  gospel  and  read  the  Bible  when 
serving  as  teacher  in  the  Ludhia'na  mission  school,  and  the 


SECOND   VISIT   TO    THE    KASHMIR   CAPITAL.  309 

plain  testimony  of  this  illiterate  Christian  now  brought  back 
the  neglected  truth,  roused  his  conscience,  and  disquieted  his 
mind.  Said  he,  interrupting  Kana'ya's  remarks,  "Say  no 
more."  Then,  turning  to  the  Sai'yad,  he  remarked :  "  This  is 
the  kind  of  people  these  Christians  are.  I  know  them  well, 
for  I  have  a  good  deal  of  acquaintance  with  them.  Ask  them 
ever  so  hard  a  question,  and  they  will  always  give  you  such  a 
reasonable  answer  that  it  shuts  your  mouth.  Behold,  we  are 
learned  men  and  magistrates,  clothed  with  authority,  yet  are 
our  mouths  closed  by  this  ignorant  man ! " 

During  this  conversation,  a  multitude  of  the  common  peo- 
ple had  gathered  in  the  area  around  Kana'ya  and  Kau'de 
Shah,  some  of  whom  were  heard  saying  to  others :  "  Behold, 
what  a  man  he  is !  His  children  are  not,  and  everything  he 
had  is  gone;  and  still  he  says:  '  If  my  life  must  go,  yet  will  I 
not  deny  I'sd' " 

The  Pan'dit  then  said  to  Kana'ya :  "  Go  hence,  now,  and 
bring  dihu'kam  if  you  wish  to  see  your  children;  letters  of 
friendly  intercession  will  avail  nothing." 

As  Kana'ya,  with  an  agonized  heart,  turned  to  go  away, 
these  words  fell  from  his  lips — words  which  the  sequel  proved 
to  be  pregnant  with  a  significance  of  which  not  even  he  him- 
self, much  less  that  heathen  judge,  had  ever  dreamed — "When 
God  gives  a  hu'kam,  then  I  shall  see  them ;  all  power  and  au- 
thority belong  to  him." 

The  two  disappointed  men  sojourned  that  night  also  with 
the  bow-maker,  and  walked  back  the  next  day  to  Scott  garh. 

The  Christians  gathered  eagerly  around  them;  the  partic- 
ulars of  this  second  expedition,  with  its  fruitless  results,  were 
related  at  length;  questions  of  law  were  raised  and  discussed; 
and  prayers  offered  up  to  God,  So  the  troubled  flock  at  Scott 
garh  passed  that  whole  night  until  the  break  of  day. 

Mr.  Scott  adhered  to  his  old  text — "  Pray,"  and  persisted  to 
the  surprise  of  every  one,  in  saying :  "  First  the  children,  then 
the  mother;  and  when  she  is  won  over,  she  will  be  such  a 
Christian,  that  by  her  means  many  more  will  find  salvation." 


CHAPTER    XXIV. 


THE    HU'KAM. 


THE    IMPERIAL    HU^KAM — THE    MAHARAJA'S   HU^KAM — GOD'S   HU^KAM — 
AND   THEN   THE   HU^KAM   OF  THE  JUDGE. 

I  WILL  give  you  a  mouth  and  wisdom  which  all  your  ad- 
versaries shall  not  be  able  to  gainsay  nor  resist." 

Kana'ya  spent  three  days  in  putting  his  farm  into  such  con- 
dition that  he  could  leave  it  without  neglect,  and  went  once 
more  to  consult  with  the  Deputy  Commissioner  at  Sial'kot — 
who,  it  will  be  remembered,  had  granted  his  petition  for  the 
possession  of  his  children — with  the  view  of  ascertaining 
whether  anything  more  could  possibly  be  done  to  recover  his 
family.  The  case  was  one  in  which  religion  was  concerned, 
and  was  now  assuming  a  very  grave  aspect,  since  the  Maha- 
raja of  an  important  native  State  was  setting  at  defiance — or 
allowing  his  officers  to  do  so — a  decision  of  the  chief  magis- 
trate of  a  District  of  British  India.  After  taking  advice,  Kan- 
a'ya procured  a  copy  of  the  proceedings  in  the  case  as  decided 
in  the  District  Court,  and  requesting  the  Deputy  Commis- 
sioner to  refer  it  to  higher  authority,  returned  to  Scott  garh 
to  wait  and  pray,  as  all  the  Christians  there  were  directed  by 
Mr.  Scott  to  do  daily  without  fail. 

Three  months  later  the  Deputy  Commissioner  called  Kan- 
a'ya to  Sial'kot,  and  said  to  him :  "  You  can  now  proceed  to 
Ja'mu,  Kana'ya,  and  claim  your  children." 

"  But  there  is  nothing  in  my  hand,"  objected  Kana'ya — "  no 
letter,  no  order — how  can  I  go  thus  empty-handed  with  any 
hope  of  obtaining  a  hearing?" 

"Yes,  Kana'ya,  you  can  go  boldly  now,"  said  the  Deputy 
Commissioner,  "  for  a  Jm'kam  from  the  English  Government 

(310) 


THE    HUKAM.  3II 

has  gone  before  you  to  the  Maharaja,  the  meaning  of  which, 
in  short,  is  this :  '  Give  up  those  children  to  their  father,  and  it 
will  be  well  with  you ;  otherwise  we  shall  see  who  is  able  to 
stand,  you  or  we.' " 

As  Kana'ya  reflected  upon  this  new  phase  of  the  case,  It 
began  to  appear  very  serious.  How  would  a  haughty  inde- 
pendent prince  like  the  Maharaja  of  Kashmir'  be  affected,  and 
how  would  he  be  likely  to  treat  a  poor  humble  individual  like 
himself,  on  receiving  this  peremptory  order  from  the  British 
Government? 

Messrs.  Martin,  Scott,  and  Gordon,  and  Miss  Gordon,  on 
being  consulted,  were  all  of  the  decided  opinion  that  for  Kan- 
a'ya  to  venture  into  Ja'mu  would  now  be  extremely  hazard- 
ous— Mr.  Scott  adding  that  should  he  go,  one  of  two  things 
would  surely  happen :  either  the  king  would  submit  and  give 
up  the  children,  or  he  would  stand  on  his  dignity  and  cause 
him  to  be  privately  executed. 

Messrs.  Martin  and  Scott  went  out  to  Scott  garh,  gathered 
all  the  Christians  together,  stated  the  new  circumstances  of  the 
case,  and  discussed  the  question  of  Kana'ya's  venturing  once 
more  to  approach  the  Maharajas  court.  Mr.  Scott  very  feel- 
ingly said  in  the  course  of  the  discussion  that  Kana'ya  and 
Bhaj'na  were  very  dear  to  him,  the  precious  fruit  which  God 
had  permitted  him  to  see  after  eight  or  ten  years  of  labor  and 
sorrow,  and  that  the  thought  of  losing  one  of  them  by  a  vio- 
lent death  was  more  than  he  felt  able  to  endure. 

But  Kana'ya  expressed  his  determination  to  go,  and  his 
willingness  to  meet  the  consequences,  whatever  they  might  be. 
"  When  a  frog  dies,"  said  he,  "  the  dust  of  its  body  is  converted 
into  a  multitude  of  little  frogs  as  soon  as  the  rain  of  heaven 
falls  upon  it;  and  just  so,  if  the  blood  of  a  Christian  is  shed  in 
Ja'mu,  many  of  those  who  see  his  sufferings  will  put  their  faith 
in  the  Lord  Jesus  and  become  Christians." 

Mr.  Scott  was  so  overcome  with  joy  at  Kana'ya's  declaration 
of  faith  and  devotion — though  not  so  well  satisfied  with  his 
knowledge  of  natural  history — that  he  could  not  refrain  from 
affectionately  clasping  him  in  his  arms. 


312  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Seeing  that  Kana'ya  was  resolute  in  his  purpose  to  go,  the 
next  question  was,  who  shall  accompany  him  ? 

Bhaj'na,  whose  heart  now  felt  drawn  to  Kana'ya  more  pow- 
erfully than  ever,  came  promptly  forward  and  manfully  offered 
to  accompany  his  dear  friend  in  the  perilous  adventure. 

"  I  cannot,"  said  Scott,  as  he  gravely  and  thoughtfully  shook 
his  head;  "no,  I  cannot  give  them  both  up  at  once."  And 
looking  at  Jan'ke,  Sa'bur  and  others,  as  he  glanced  about  the 
room  in  which  they  were  assembled,  he  added :  "  Let  one  of 
these  go;  and  then  if  Kana'ya  is  taken  away,  Bhaj'na  will  re- 
main, and  I  will  not,  in  the  same  day,  be  bereaved  of  them 
both."  But  every  man  designated  by  Mr.  Scott  positively  re- 
fused, and  the  matter  began  to  hang  in  uncertainty,  no  one  for 
a  moment  entertaining  the  thought  of  allowing  Kana'ya  to 
make  the  venture  alone. 

At  length  Kau'de  Shah,  the  faithful  Muhammadan  servant, 
who  had  twice  already  stood  fearlessly  by  Kana'ya's  side  in 
the  Ja'mu  court,  came  forward  and  voluntarily  offered  his  ser- 
vices. As  soon  as  this  was  reported  to  his  wife  and  four 
brothers,  they  sent  him  an  urgent  message,  desiring  that  he 
would  not  consent  thus  to  expose  his  life  to  imminent  danger. 
But  his  answer  was  prompt  and  decided:  "  If  it  be  God's  plea- 
sure that  I  go,  what  have  I  to  fear  ?  Besides,  I  love  Kana'ya 
and  all  the  Christians,  and  am  resolved  never  to  separate  my- 
self from  them.     I  will  go  to  Ja'mu  with  Kana'ya." 

This  important  preliminary  to  the  journey  having  been  set- 
tled, a  very  early  hour  was  set  for  them  to  start  for  Ja'mu  the 
next  morning,  after  which  the  Christians  met  for  evening 
prayer,  and  on  retiring  for  the  night  bade  the  two  an  affec- 
tionate farewell — some  feeling  very  solemn,  and  others  weeping 
freely,  as  if  taking  their  last  leave  of  them. 

In  the  latter  part  of  the  night,  whilst  the  enemies  in  Na'ya 
Find  were  sound  asleep,  Kana'ya  went  over  to  Ka'lu,  whose 
home  was  in  that  village,  and  taking  him  unreservedly  into 
his  confidence,  charged  him  solemnly  and  earnestly  as  follows  : 
"  Go,  Ka'lu,  to  Jan'di,  to  my  father,  my  wife,  and  my  children. 


MR.  JAMES   W.  GORDON. 


MRS.  ELEANOR  J.  GORDON. 


THE    HUKAM.  3I3 

making  sure  that  you  let  no  mortal  know  of  your  movements. 
I  am  now  going  to  the  Ja'mu  court  to  get  my  children,  and 
am  just  ready  to  start;  the  Mahdrdjd  will  probably  wish  to 
have  my  family  meet  me,  in  order  to  ask  them  in  presence  of 
the  judges  whether  they  are  willing  to  go  with  me  or  not.  If 
so,  my  father  and  wife  will  have  a  fatiguing  journey  of  nearly 
forty  miles  to  travel  over  bad  roads,  along  the  foot  of  the 
mountains  from  Jan'di  to  Ja'mu^ — will  have  to  travel  on  foot, 
carrying  the  two  youngest  children  all  that  toilsome  journey, 
with  no  one  to  care  for  them  or  help  them.  The  Lord  only 
knows,  Ka'lu,  what  fatigue,  what  hunger,  what  sickness  and 
distress,  may  befall  them  by  the  way.  Besides,  you  well  know 
how  the  hearts  of  my  dear  children  will  be  filled  with  lies  to 
prejudice  them  against  me,  so  that  they  may  deny  me  in  pres- 
ence of  the  judges.  Here  is  a  little  money;  give  it  to  them 
for  their  journey." 

Ka'lu  prepared,  though  reluctantly,  to  start  as  requested 
that  very  morning  for  JanMi,  whilst  Kana'ya  returned  to  Scott 
garh,  and  at  four  o'clock  on  the  same  morning  was  ready  to 
start  with  Kau'de  Shah  for  Ja'mu.  The  only  person  up  at 
that  early  hour  in  Scott  garh  to  see  them  off  was  Bhaj'na, 
who  at  parting  wept  bitterly,  and  said :  "  Could  I  only  have 
permission,  I  would  go  along ;  but  if  it  is  God's  pleasure  we 
shall  again  meet — if  not  here,  in  heaven." 

On  entering  Ja'mu  that  evening,  Kana'ya  and  KauMe  Shah 
went  directly  to  the  house  of  Al'lahdit'ta,  the  kajndn-sdz,  who 
had  so  hospitably  lodged  them  during  their  second  visit,  but 
who  now  appeared  shy  and  very  much  agitated.  "  Look  here," 
said  he,  taking  good  care  that  no  eavesdroppers  were  about, 
"  I  am  indeed  your  friend.  But  alas !  this  whole  city  has  be- 
come filled  with  noise  and  commotion;  the  court-house  is 
closed,  and  public  business  suspended.  I  cannot  tell  whether 
there  is  to  be  war  over  this  thing  or  not,  but  at  this  very  time 
the  king  and  his  Wasir' ,  his  military  officers  and  chief  judges, 
with  all  his  other  great  men,  are  holding  a  council  in  the  up- 
per part  of  the  city,  and  this  is  the  reason  why  you  see  the 


314  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

court-house  closed.  Besides,  a  proclamation  has  been  issued 
to  warn  the  people  of  Ja'mu  that  if  any  man  receives  you  into 
his  house,  that  man,  together  with  his  children,  will  be  im- 
prisoned. And,  my  friends,  it  is  not  now  in  my  power  to 
entertain  you." 

When  the  pair  had  taken  leave  of  their  friend,  Kau'de  Shah, 
fearing  lest  some  one  might  get  into  trouble  on  their  account, 
proposed  that  they  should  at  once  leave  the  city ;  upon  which 
they  left,  and  sought  a  place  of  seclusion  beyond  the  city 
limits,  where  they  would  be  least  likely  to  attract  public  atten- 
tion. At  the  east  side  of  Ja'mu  is  a  deep  ravine,  down  which 
flows  the  river  Ta'wi.  The  descent  from  the  city  to  the  river 
is  quite  precipitous,  and  overgrown  with  jungle.  Passing  down 
the  steep  declivity,  through  the  jungle,  they  found  near  the 
bank  of  the  stream  just  such  an  unfrequented  retreat  as  they 
desired.  In  a  lonely  spot  near  the  river  bank  was  a  large  tree, 
under  which  the  ground  had  been  so  raised  as  to  form  a  rough 
platform  of  earth  and  stone,  affording  a  dry  place  to  sit,  pro- 
tected by  the  tree  from  the  burning  sun.  Close  by  this  tree 
was  a  little  straw  hut,  in  which  lived  a  poor  old  gray-headed 
fakir' ,  who  may  be  briefly  described  as  tall,  lank,  and  all  but 
stark  naked.  He  was  one  of  the  Sepoys  who  had  escaped  in 
the  days  of  the  Sepoy  mutiny,  and  the  wretched  creature  had 
chosen  a  mendicant's  life  as  a  means  of  subsisting,  and  this 
lonely  spot  for  security  against  detection. 

Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah  were  entirely  unacquainted  with 
this  solitary  mendicant,  but  knew  they  could  not  live  in  a 
jungle  with  jackals,  leopards,  and  snakes,  whilst  it  seemed 
possible  for  them  to  gain  some  advantage  from  harboring  with 
even  this  poor  specimen  of  humanity.  So  they  ventured  to 
approach  the  "  holy  man,"  saying :  "  Reverend  sir,  with  your 
permission,  we  would  like  to  sojourn  with  you." 

"Very  well,"  said  the/^-^zV,  eying  the  strangers  rather  sus- 
piciously, "you  are  welcome  to  stop.  I  am  not  afraid  of  you  ; 
there  is  naught  here  for  you  to  steal  save  only  my  dog  and 
myself" 


THE   HUKAM,  315 

Such  an  uncouth  address  of  welcome  as  this  sounds  very 
strange  indeed  to  our  ears,  but  Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah  well 
knew  that  it  was  given  in  simple  good  faith,  and  was  as  cor- 
dial as  could  be  expected  under  the  circumstances ;  and  feel- 
ing no  more  afraid  of  being  stolen  by  him  than  he  did  of  being 
stolen  by  them,  they  resolved  to  sojourn  with  him  for  the 
present.  Within  the  hut  itself  was  scarcely  room  for  'dx^fakh^ 
and  his  dog,  but  there  was  ample  space  under  the  tree,  where 
they  spread  a  blanket  and  seated  themselves. 

I  may  here  remind  the  reader  that  Kana'ya,  who  had  been 
favored  with  only  seventeen  days  of  schooling,  had  under- 
taken to  teach  Kau'de  Shah  to  read;  the  latter,  being  anxious 
to  keep  up  his  lessons  and  learn  to  read  the  Bible,  was  not 
willing  to  lose  the  opportunity  for  study  enjoyed  in  this  se- 
cluded retreat  on  the  river  bank.  Fearing,  however,  to  open 
their  books  in  the  daytime,  they  took  a  few  coppers  and 
bought  a  d'i'w'd  and  some  oil  in  an  obscure  suburb  of  Ja'mu, 
where  ^o.  fakir'  was  accustomed  to  make  his  petty  purchases, 
to  be  ready  for  a  lesson  at  night. 

When  night  came  \k\&fakir'  lay  down  in  his  hut,  and  to  all 
appearances  fell  into  a  sound  sleep.  But  the  old  Sepoy  was 
very  curious  to  learn  something  about  his  stranger  guests; 
and  though  we  know  not  just  what  passed  in  his  mind,  it 
would  be  very  natural  just  then  for  him  to  recall  the  mutiny 
of  1857 — the  banishment  of  some  of  his  comrades  to  the  An- 
daman Islands,  the  blowing  of  others  from  the  cannon's  mouth, 
and  such  like  horrors;  and  if  he  recalled  the  scene  at  Hurmat 
Khan's  hut  near  Ja'mu,  he  may  have  suspected  that  his  guests 
were  spies ;  at  any  rate,  he  lay  wide  awake  and  listened  eagerly 
to  every  word  they  uttered. 

When  Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah  supposed  that  no  ear 
could  hear  them  save  the  ear  of  God  alone,  they  knelt  down 
and  prayed,  and  then  read  a  Scripture  lesson;  after  which 
they  searched  out  many  comforting  portions  of  the  Scripture, 
which,  in  their  weird  and  painful  solitude,  were  a  greater 
treasure  to  them — 

"  Than  finest  gold  in  richest  store," 


3l6  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

continuing  their  devotions  until  midnight.  One  of  the  pre- 
cious things  which  they  found  in  the  treasury  of  God's  word 
exactly  suited  to  their  immediate  needs  was  this :  "  The  angel 
of  the  Lord  encampeth  round  about  them  that  fear  him,  and 
delivereth  them."  After  reading  this  encouraging  passage, 
Kana'ya  said  to  his  companion,  "  If  this  be  our  trust,  what 
have  we  to  fear  ?"  Kau'de  Shah  replied,  in  a  whisper,  "  We 
are  not  afraid  of  anything  happening  to  ourselves ;  but  here 
are  our  books  and  clothes — lest  some  one  might  steal  them,  we 
will  sleep  by  turns,  and  you  will  please  take  your  turn  first." 

As  soon  as  the  sun  was  up  next  morning  the  old  fakir' 
crawled  out  of  his  hut,  and  seated  himself  beside  his  two 
guests,  evincing  by  his  manner  and  looks  that  his  curiosity 
had  been  pent  up  about  as  long  as  he  could  bear  it. 

"Who  are  you  people?"  said  he;  "and  what  were  those 
sweet  sweet  words  which  you  were  speaking  one  to  another 
in  the  night?     Pray,  let  me  know." 

Kana'ya  wished  to  keep  quiet  a  few  days,  until  he  should 
see  what  would  happen  in  Ja'mu,  and  preferred  not  to  tell  at 
present  who  he  was  or  what  business  he  had  in  hand.  He 
therefore  said,  in  answer  to  the/«Hr"i"  inquiry,  "  Reverend  Sir, 
we  people  intend  to  sojourn  here  several  days,  and  will  tell 
you  everything;  but  not  just  now,  if  you  will  please  to  kindly 
excuse  us  only  for  a  little  while." 

"Very  well,"  said  'Cs\Q.fakir\  making  up  his  mind  to  wait  as 
patiently  as  he  possibly  could. 

As  the  old  man  had  been  trying  to  read  them  during  the 
night,  so  they  improved  their  opportunity  of  studying  him  in 
the  day  time.  About  eight  or  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  a 
poor  superstitious  man,  whose  child  lay  sick  with  a  fever,  came 
bowing  down  before  \kiQ  fakir' ,  worshiping  him  as  though  he 
were  divine.  Whereupon  the  old  mendicant,  in  order  to  ex- 
cite in  the  mind  of  his  deluded  worshiper  a  keener  sense  of 
dependence,  and  at  the  same  time  magnify  his  own  import- 
ance, treated  the  humble  suppliant  at  first  with  haughty  indif- 
ference.    Then  he  took  some  ashes,  breathed  upon  them  cere- 


THE    HUKAM.  3  17 

moniously,  and  enclosed  them  in  a  piece  of  paper  like  a 
doctor's  powder,  which  he  directed  the  father  to  take  home 
and  bind  about  his  child's  neck,  assuring  him  that  his  sick 
child  would  recover.  Many  other  afflicted  people  came  to  the 
fak'ir'  and  were  treated  by  him  in  a  similar  manner ;  a  little 
ashes,  a  bit  of  thread,  or  anything  that  happened  to  be  ready 
at  hand,  was  converted  into  a  charm  by  his  breathing  upon  it, 
and  given  to  them  for  the  cure  of  their  diverse  maladies.  All 
these  things  were  observed  by  Kana'ya,  and  laid  up  in  his 
mind  to  be  noticed  when  the  right  time  should  come. 

All  the  visitors  who  came  to  pay  homage  to  iht  fakir'  were, 
without  exception,  curious  to  know  something  about  the  two 
strangers  sitting  near  the  hut;  but  he  invariably  refused  to 
gratify  their  curiosity,  and  forbade  every  attempt  on  their  part 
to  ask  his  stranger  guests  any  questions. 

About  noon  Kana'ya  said  to  Kau'de  Shah,  "  I  think  one  of 
us  had  better  go  up  now  and  see  what  the  condition  of  affairs 
is  at  the  court-house." 

"  No,"  said  Kau'de  Shah,  "  my  counsel  is  that  we  remain 
for  a  few  days  where  we  are,  and  then  both  go  together." 

The  fak'ir',  who  was  growing  more  and  more  impatient  to 
know  something  more  about  his  guests,  overhearing  their  con- 
versation, said,  "  My  brothers,  what  will  you  do  at  the  court- 
house just  now?  The  court  is  closed.  Some  very  important 
case  has  come  up — so  important  that  they  say  there  is  go- 
ing to  be  a  war  about  it  between  the  Mahdrdjd  and  the  Eng- 
lish; and  this  is  why  the  court  is  not  sitting.  What  business 
is  it,  if  I  may  ask,  that  you  people  have  in  court?" 

These  words  were  spoken  by  the/^/^zV  in  honest  simplicity, 
and  without  the  slightest  suspicion  on  his  part  that  any  con- 
nection whatever  existed  between  his  guests  and  that  "  vtry 
important  case,"  Indeed,  he  evidently  thought  he  was  giving 
them  a  bit  of  useful  information,  whjch  would  save  them  from 
climbing  up  to  the  court-house  in  vain.  In  order,  however,  to 
return  some  kind  of  an  answer  to  his  question,  Kau'de  Shah 
said,  "  Your  Reverence,  when  people  go  to  court,  it  is  always 
on  some  kind  of  worldly  business,  you  know." 


3l8  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

The  old  man  then  dropped  the  inquiry  and  tried  to  seem 
satisfied,  for  nien  of  his  cloth — albeit  there  was  very  little  cloth 
about  him — are  not  supposed  to  feel  at  all  interested  in  worldly 
affairs. 

Towards  evening  Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah  placed  their 
little  bundles,  containing  their  books,  blankets,  and  other 
small  effects,  in  care  of  the  fakir' ,  saying :  "  We  are  going  to 
take  a  walk  about  the  city." 

As  soon  as  they  had  entered  a  thicket  on  the  hill-side  as 
they  ascended,  and  were  concealed  from  observation,  they 
stopped  and  disguised  themselves  by  readjusting  their  gar- 
ments so  as  not  to  be  easily  recognized  by  persons  who  had 
seen  them  on  their  former  visit  to  Ja'mu.  On  reaching  the 
court-house  they  found  it  still  closed,  and  the  public  bazar  in 
that  part  of  the  city  as  quiet  as  though  almost  entirely  depop- 
ulated. No  horses  were  to  be  seen  on  the  race-course,  and 
no  elephants  lumbering  about,  the  pleasure-grounds  being  all 
deserted.  At  the  same  time,  several  pieces  of  artillery  were 
to  be  seen  standing  as  they  had  been  recently  drawn  out  of 
the  arsenal  as  far  as  its  gate,  and  coolies  observed  repairing  the 
road  from  the  arsenal  to  the  fort ;  whilst  up  at  the  council- 
house  there  was  a  large  gathering  of  people,  and  quite  a  com- 
motion. 

Seeing  a  sentinel  on  guard  at  the  arsenal,  Kana'ya  said  to 
him  in  the  Dogra  dialect,  "The  court-house  is  closed  to  day; 
what  is  the  reason  for  that?" 

"  Do  you  not  know,"  said  the  sentinel,  "  that  some  grave 
affair  is  on  hand  between  the  Malidraja  and  the  English,  about 
which  there  is  going  to  be  war?" 

"Pray,  what  can  that  be  about?"  said  Kana'ya. 

"  I  am  entirely  ignorant  on  that  point,"  replied  the  soldier. 

"Why  are  these  being  taken  out  of  the  arsenal?"  inquired 
Kana'ya,  as  he  pointed  to  the  three  cannon  with  their  muzzles 
turned  toward  them. 

"  These  have  lain  in  the  arsenal  a  long  time,"  replied  the 
soldier,  "  and  are  now  to  be  hauled  over  to  the  fort." 


THE    HUKAM.  3I9 

"Is  there  really  to  be  war?"  Kana'ya  continued.  "Is  it 
actually  decided?" 

"It  is  on  this  very  question,"  the  sentinel  replied,  "that 
they  are  now  holding  a  council;  and  when  they  come  to  a 
decision  we  will  know  whether  it  is  to  be  peace  or  war." 

Kana'ya  and  his  companion  passed  on  without  feeling 
greatly  enlightened,  and  wandering  about  the  city,  took  a 
good  survey  of  the  palace  and  all  the  principal  places  and 
buildings,  and  then  returned  to  their  humble  lodgings  under 
the  big  tree  beside  the  old  faMr's  hut 

The  fak'ir^  seating  himself  near  them,  immediately  begged 
them  to  let  him  hear  words  like  those  which  they  had  spoken 
to  each  other  in  the  night.  But  feeling  a  little  afraid  to  open 
their  books  in  daylight,  they  put  him  off,  saying:  "We  must 
eat  a  little  bread  just  now,  and  if  you  too  will  eat  and  be 
ready,  we  will  let  you  hear  about  these  things  to-night."  Ac- 
cording to  this  arrangement,  the  three  were  ready  by  ten 
o'clock  and  seated  under  the  tree  to  read  and  listen,  the  hut 
being  too  small  to  admit  so  large  a  company. 

Kana'ya  began  by  reading  the  ten  commandments.  Then 
turning  to  the  sixth  chapter  of  Matthew,  he  read  to  the  fak'ir^ 
the  Lord's  prayer,  and  taught  him  how  to  pray.  He  next 
turned  to  the  fifth  chapter  of  Matthew,  making  use  of  it  to 
show  how  the  ten  commandments  apply  to  our  secret 
thoughts,  motives,  and  desires,  even  more  than  to  our  out- 
ward actions.  The  old  man  listened  silently  and  with  intense 
interest  to  every  word,  and  was  so  subdued  and  solemnized 
by  what  he  heard,  that  the  way  appeared  to  Kana'ya  to  be 
open  for  making  a  pointed  and  personal  application.  "Just 
see,"  said  he,  addressing  the  old  man  with  kindness  and  re- 
spect, "  do  you  remember  that  poor  man  who  came  here  this 
morning  about  his  sick  child  ?  You  breathed  on  some  ashes 
and  gave  them  to  him  to  make  his  child  well ;  and  the  poor 
ignorant  creature  went  away  believing  that  you  have  power  to 
heal  his  sick  child !  You  did  the  same  thing  to  others,  and  it  is 
by  deceiving  people  in  this  way  that  you  gain  your  livelihood." 


320  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

"True!  true!"  exclaimed  the  fakt/.  "It  is  all  deception 
and  fraud.  I  have  been  taking  advantage  of  the  ignorance  of 
my  people.  I  am  an  old  man,  but  never  before  heard  I  such 
words  as  these;  and  because  I  heard  not,  therefore  I  continued 
lying  and  deceiving.  Praise  be  to  Allah !  Praise  be  to  Allah 
for  these  words  of  truth ! " 

After  they  had  spent  some  time  in  studying  the  Scriptures, 
Kana'ya  said,  "  Let  us  kneel  in  prayer." 

"  Do  you  pray,"  inquired  the  old  man,  "  at  the  five  set  times 
daily,  as  we  Muhammadans  do?" 

"  Not  at  all,"  Kana'ya  answered,  "  God  has  not  given  any 
such  command  as  that.  His  door  is  open  at  all  times,  so  that 
whenever  we  desire  we  may  come  to  him,  if  we  but  come  with 
a  true  heart  and  in  faith;"  and  so  saying,  he  and  Kau'de  Shah 
knelt  down. 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  a  man  who  had  grown  hoary- 
headed  in  the  observance  of  Muhammadan  forms  could  break 
off  suddenly  from  old  habits  and  bow  down  with  Christians  ; 
so  the  fakir'  sat  and  listened  whilst  Kana'ya  prayed  aloud. 
When  they  rose  from  their  knees  the  old  fakir'  said,  earnestly, 
"  From  my  youth  up  have  I  read  the  Koran,  but  never  before 
have  I  found  these  good  and  wonderful  words." 

Kau'de  Shah,  perceiving  that  the  old  man  was  deceiving 
himself  with  the  idea  that  he  ought  to  have  found  these  "good 
and  wonderful  words"  in  the  Koran,  ventured  to  explain  a  lit- 
tle. Said  he,  "This  book,"  pointing  to  the  New  Testament  in 
Kana'ya's  hand,  "  is  a  new  command  from  God ;  and  whoever 
believes  it  will  be  saved." 

The  words  of  Jesus  which  Kana'ya  had  read  had  sunk  deep 
into  the  dark  mind  of  the  old  sinner,  rousing  his  conscience 
and  convicting  him  of  sin,  and  though  not  agreeable  to  Mu- 
hammadan doctrine,  excited  in  him  no  opposition  whatever. 

Like  other  fakirs'  of  the  Muhammadan  faith,  this  man  was 
accustomed  at  certain  hours  of  the  day  and  night  to  perform  a 
kind  of  devotional  exercise  by  merely  repeating  over  and  over 
again  the  name  oi  Allah,    After  he  had  been  vigorously  shout- 


THE    HUKAM.  321 

ing  ''Allah!  Allah!  Allah!''  for  quite  a  while,  Kana'ya  called 
him  to  his  side,  and  said  very  meekly,  "  Look  here,  Reverend 
Sir,  you  ought  not  to  shout  at  God  in  this  way,  and  repeat  his 
name  vainly:  see  what  is  written  in  this  book,"  and  turning  to 
Matt.  vi.  7,  he  read  :  "  But  when  ye  pray,  use  not  vain  repeti- 
tions as  the  heathen  do ;  for  they  think  that  they  shall  be 
heard  for  their  much  speaking." 

The  old  man  crawled  into  his  hut  without  a  word,  and  from 
that  time  ceased  from  his  "  vain  repetitions." 

The  reader  will  have  observed  that  Kau'de  Shah,  although 
not  baptized,  openly  and  boldly  speaks,  acts  and  worships  like 
a  Christian,  and  sympathizes  and  suffers  with  one  whenever  he 
has  an  opportunity.  Under  the  simple  teachings  of  Kana'ya 
he  had  mastered  the  Roman  Urdu  primer,  and  read  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  and  was  now  reading  the  Gospel  of  Matthew. 
The  next  morning,  after  taking  a  bath  in  the  river,  he  studied 
his  Scripture  lesson  with  Kana'ya,  and  knelt  with  him  in 
prayer,  after  which  the  twain  went  up  to  the  city  to  ascertain 
the  progress  and  condition  of  affairs  between  the  Maharaja 
and  the  English  Government. 

As  they  walked  through  the  Ja'mu  bazar,  and  were  about 
to  pass  a  number  of  carpenters  at  work,  Kana'ya  accidentally 
recognized  among  them  a  man  whose  name  was  Ha'ko,  who 
had  formerly  lived  at  his  own  native  village,  Jhandran',  but 
had  lately  taken  employment  under  the  Maharaja  as  head 
carpenter.  Knowing  that  Ha'ko  was  an  intelligent  man,  and 
hoping  to  gain  some  information  more  reliable  than  any  he 
had  yet  obtained,  Kana'ya  went  near  and  drew  him  into  a  con- 
versation, by  asking  him  who  he  was,  and  whence  he  came. 

"  I  do  not  recognize  you,"  said  Ha'ko. 

"Your  name,"  said  Kana'ya,  "is  Ha'ko." 

The  man  looked  bewildered,  and  said :  "  I  would  like  very 
much  to  know  who  you  are,  and  how  you  come  to  know  me." 

"I  will  tell  you  after  a  little,"  said  Kana'ya,  "but  I  would 
like  first  to  learn  why  it  is  that  there  is  no  business  going  on 
in  the  court-house  to-day;  I  suppose  you  know  it  is  closed?" 


322  OUR    INDIA   MISSION. 

Ha'ko  being  a  foreigner  in  Ja'mu,  and  not  wishing  to  speak 
publicly  about  the  affairs  of  a  despot  Hke  the  Maharaja  of 
Kashmir',  beckoned  Kana'ya  aside;  but  Kana'ya,  before  fol- 
lowing him,  stepped  near  to  Kau'de  Shah,  and  in  a  low  tone, 
so  as  not  to  be  overheard,  said:  "Be  quiet  for  a  little,  Kau'de 
Shah,  neither  asking  nor  answering  any  questions,  only  keep 
your  ears  wide  open,  whilst  I  learn  from  this  man  all  about 
what  is  going  on  in  the  city."  Then  joining  Ha'ko,  and  walk- 
ing away  with  him  beyond  the  hearing  and  observation  of  the 
other  workmen,  he  continued  his  query: 

"The  court  is  closed  to-day,  is  it  not,  Ha'ko?  What  can 
be  the  reason  of  this?     PIsase  tell  me  if  you  possibly  can." 

Ha'ko  then  began  to  explain:  "Some  Hindu  in  the  District 
of  Sial'kot,"  said  he,  "has  become  a  Kira'n'i.  His  family  have 
come  over  into  the  Maharaja  s  dominion.  An  order  has 
corrie  from  the  Queen  of  England  that  the  children  must  be 
given  up  to  their  father.  If  they  are  given  up  willingly,  all 
right;  but  if  not,  the  treaty  between  the  Maharaja  and  the 
English  will  be  broken,  and  the  British  will  send  an  army 
against  Ja'mu.  The  king  and  his  counselors  have  been  con- 
sulting about  this  matter  for  three  whole  days,  and  there  re- 
mains only  the  fourth  day — to-day — for  them  to  decide." 

Kana'ya,  having  listened  attentively  to  this  interesting  intel- 
ligence, looked  Ha'ko  squarely  in  the  face,  and  asked :  "  Do 
you  really  not  know  who  I  am?" 

"  I  have  not  yet  recognized  you,"  said  Ha'ko,  continuing,  as 
he  spoke,  to  scan  the  mysterious  stranger  with  eyes  riveted 
upon  him. 

"What  was  your  father's  name?"  said  Kana'ya,  looking 
intently  into  Ha'ko's  eyes,  and  enjoying  his  bewilderment. 

"  My — father's — name,"  Ha'ko  repeated  slowly,  "  was — Kan- 
a'ya— "  and  then,  suddenly  recognizing  his  old  friend,  and 
grasping  his  hand,  he  exclaimed  with  delight :  "  OJi  ho  !  you 
are  Kana'ya!  You  were  the  dear  friend  of  my  father  who  is 
dead !  Yes,  when  there  was  war  in  the  time  of  the  Sikhs, 
your  grandmother  saved  my  father's  life ! " 


THE    HUKAM.  323 

Thus  an  old  friendship  and  pleasant  early  associations  were 
revived;  Ha'ko  was  really  delighted  at  the  unexpected  meet- 
ing, and  continued:  "You  will  come  home  and  lodge  with  me, 
brother  Kana'ya — of  course  you  will;  where  else  would  you 
go  ?  I  am  the  king's  head  carpenter,  and  have  in  my  house 
plenty  of  everything  to  make  you  comfortable." 

Kana'ya  begged  to  be  excused,  saying  that  he  had  left  his 
baggage  in  charge  of  a  certain  fakir',  and  with  this  excuse 
put  Ha'ko  off,  promising  to  visit  him  at  some  other  time. 

"  But  pray  tell  me,"  said  Ha'ko,  "  what  business  at  the  king's 
court  has  brought  you  all  the  way  to  Ja'mu  ?  " 

"  This,"  said  Kana'ya,  "  I  can  explain  when  I  see  you 
again." 

The  truth  is,  he  did  not  yet  feel  prepared  to  confide  his  im- 
portant errand  to  Ha'ko,  who  knew  not  even  that  he  was  a 
Christian,  much  less  that  he  was  that  very  "  Kii'd'n'i"  over 
whom  Ja'mu  was  then  in  trouble ;  and  should  everything  be 
made  known  at  once,  Ha'ko's  friendship,  hearty  as  it  was, 
might  not  be  able  to  survive  the  shock.  As  Ha'ko  could  not 
persuade  Kana'ya  to  accept  of  his  hospitality,  he  forced  upon 
him  money  to  pay  for  lodgings  elsewhere;  after  which  Kan- 
a'ya and  Kau'de  Shah  retired  for  one  more  night  to  their 
lodgings  deep  down  in  the  secluded  ravine  on  the  banks  of 
the  Tavi,  where  the  interested  old  mendicant  again  drew  near 
and  listened  with  profound  concern,  as  by  the  light  of  their 
little  d'iwd  they  read  ahd  explained  the  word  of  God. 

Thcfaktr'  rejoiced  in  God's  word  "as  one  that  findeth  great 
spoil,"  and  desiring  that  others  as  well  as  himself  might  enjoy 
the  privilege  of  hearing  it,  suggested  to  Kana'ya  that  he 
should  read  it  in  the  day-time,  when  many  others  would  gladly 
come  to  listen. 

"  But  what  if  people  should  become  angry  on  hearing  these 
vrards,  and  quarrel  with  us?"  objected  Kana'ya. 

The  fakir'  felt  indignant  at  the  thought  of  any  becoming 
angry  at  such  good  words,  and  still  more  so  at  the  idea  of 
their  giving  annoyance  to  these  good  men  who  had  taken 


324  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

shelter  under  his  roof.  "What  right,"  he  asked,  " and  what 
authority  would  they  have  to  do  aught  or  say  aught  in  my 
house?"  And  the  more  he  reflected  upon  it,  the  more  did 
his  old  militaiy  spirit  warm  up  within  him.  In  his  hand  was 
a  stick,  from  which  he  was  seldom  parted — a  stick  about  four 
feet  long,  and  fully  two  and  a  half  inches  thick  at  the  heavy 
end.  Rising  up,  and  stretching  to  its  full  height  the  tall 
shrivelled  frame  of  what  had  once  been  a  powerful  man,  he 
repeated  with  emphasis:  "Dare  any  one?  With  this  club 
would  I  break  his  head ! " 

The  following  morning  Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah  sat  read- 
ing the  Scriptures,  having  agreed  that  they  would  read  until 
noon,  and  then  go  up  to  find  out  what  they  could  concerning 
the  threatened  war.  When  the  reading  was  fairly  begun,  two 
namd'zis*  on  coming  to  visit  the  fakir' ,  and  seeing  two  per- 
sons engaged  in  reading,  drew  near  to  the  readers,  and  seated 
themselves  before  them  upon  the  ground, 

"  What  book  is  that  ? "  inquisitively  asked  one  of  the  na 
m'd'zis. 

Kana'ya  boldly  answered:  "This  is  the  Word  of  God;"t 
whereupon  the  two  devout  Muhammadans,  supposing  they 
were  to  hear  something  from  the  Koran,  prepared  to  listen 
with  reverent  attention. 

The  passage  which  was  being  read  contained  St.  John's 
account  of  Jesus'  turning  water  into  wine,  Muhammadans 
condemn  the  use  of  intoxicants,  and  when  these  nama'zls 
heard  of  so  much  water  being  turned  into  wine,  one  of  them 
looked  at  the  reader  very  conceitedly,  just  as  if  he  thought  he 
had  made  an  important  discovery,  and  asked :  "  Who  are 
you  ?  " 

"What  necessity  is  there   for  you   to  know  that?"  asked 

*  Muhammadans  who  scrupulously  recite  prayers  five  times  daily ;  the  mass 
of  them  are  confessedly  negligent  of  this  essential  duty. 

f  According  to  the  Koran  the  Bible  is  the  word  of  God,  and  must  be  believed 
and  obeyed  no  less  than  the  Koran  itself;  but  illiterate  Muhammadans — as  were 
these  narnd'zls — think  of  the  Koran  only  as  God's  word. 


THE    HUKAM.  325 

Kana'ya,  in  a  tone  which  restrained  the  fellow's  inquisitive- 
ness. 

The  other  nain'dz'i,  shifting  his  position  a  little  nearer,  and 
stretching  his  neck  curiously  to  obtain  a  look  at  the  book  in 
Kana'ya's  hand,  said,  "  One  thing  I  want  very  much  to  know : 
the  letters  in  this  book  are  English  letters,  and  your  reading  is 
in  the  Hindustani  language.  What  new  thing  is  this  ?  Never 
before  have  I  heard  of  such  a  thing  as  this." 

"  Well,"  said  Kana'ya,  emphatically,  "  this  book  is  the  Word 
of  God ;  is  that  not  enough  ?  What  need  have  you  to  ask  any 
more  questions  ?" 

Then  one  of  them,  apparently  satisfied,  said,  "Be  pleased 
then  to  read  from  it,  that  we  may  listen." 

Kana'ya,  as  was  his  custom,  made  them  promise  not  to  be- 
come angry,  and  in  case  they  could  not  listen  quietly  merely 
to  go  away — and  then  began  : 

"  I  will  first  ask  whether  you  know  who  Jesus  Christ  is  ?  " 

"  Yes,  we  know  very  well,"  they  both  replied ;  "  He  yet 
lives,  and  is  in  heaven." 

"  Very  good,"  said  Kana'ya ;  "  that  is  true.  Now  this  book 
is  God's  Word,  and  tells  about  Jesus  Christ.  Besides  him  there 
is  no  Saviour.  Neither  saint  nor  prophet,  nor  god  nor  god- 
dess, nor  Ram  nor  Krishna — nor  even  Muhammad  himself, 
in  whom  you  people  believe  as  your  advocate — not  one  of 
these  is  able  to  save  you.  There  is  no  other  who  can  save  us 
but  this  I'sa,  who  now  lives  and  is  in  heaven." 

The  two  namdzis  began  to  wax  indignant,  one  of  them  de- 
fiantly demanding:  "What!  Muhammad?  Do  you  say  that 
Jie  cannot  save  us  ?  " 

"Oh,"  said  Kana'ya,  with  an  air  of  careless  indifference, 
"  Muhammad  is  dead." 

This  disparaging  remark  concerning  their  revered  prophet, 
the  truth  of  which  they  could  not  pretend  to  deny,  was  too 
much  of  a  trial  for  the  meekness  of  the  namds'is,  who  instantly 
rose  up  and  began  to  revile  Kana'ya  most  venomously,  shout- 
ing: ''  Be-'imdn'  !   Kd'fir !   Sfc'arf   Hamd're  paigham'bar  se 


326  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

ai'sdbol'ta  hai?"  (Impious  one !  Infidel!  Pig!  Barest  thou 
speak  S7ich  words  of  our  prophet?) 

Our  old  fakir'  had  all  this  while  sat  squat  in  the  doorway 
of  his  hut — his  lank,  loose-jointed,  skeleton-like  limbs  folded 
up  against  his  chest,  and  his  chin  propped  on  his  knees,  as  he 
looked  intently  on,  watching  closely  the  behavior  of  the  two 
excited  namd'z'is.  Before  they  had  proceeded  with  their 
abusive  address  beyond  the  ugly  word  "  su'ar" — of  all  epithets 
the  most  hateful  to  a  Muhammadan — the  fakir's  soldier-spirit 
was  aroused.  Unfolding  himself  to  his  full  length,  and  stalk- 
ing forth  with  his  club  grasped  in  both  hands  and  raised  above 
his  head,  he  aimed  a  vigorous  blow  at  his  two  co-religionists. 
A  monitory  word,  which  dropped  from  his  lips  as  he  was  ad- 
vancing, fortunately  warned  them  to  decamp  just  in  time,  else 
their  bones  or  brains  must  have  suffered,  for  he  struck  with  all 
his  might.  Indeed,  our  friends  who  looked  on  from  beneath 
their  tree,  to  this  day  wonder  how  the  two  namdz'is  were  so 
lucky  as  to  escape  the  well-directed  blow. 

The  sturdy  champion  was  too  old  to  give  chase,  and  when 
the  offenders  were  at  a  safe  distance,  they  turned  about  and 
gazed  stupidly,  struck  with  amazement  at  so  sudden  and  so 
unexpected  an  outburst  from  his  Reverence,  and  still  more 
amazed  at  his  sidmg  with  Kirdnis  against  good  namds'is  of 
his  own  faith. 

"  There!"  said  'Cao.  fakir' ,  authoritatively,  as  he  pointed  to  a 
boundary  line  at  a  respectful  distance  from  his  sacred  pre- 
cincts— "  Stand  there,  and  listen ;  these  are  good  and  lovely 
words.  Yes,  believe  on  him  who  lives — not  on  him  who  is 
dead!     And  if  you  wish  not  to  listen,  go  away." 

After  witnessing  this  fearless  exhibition  of  physical  and 
moral  courage  on  the  part  of  their  valorous  friend  and  ally, 
Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah  felt  emboldened  and  strengthened. 
Opening  the  forbidden  book,  they  now  began,  without  con- 
straint or  reserve,  to  read  fearlessly  and  preach  from  it  to  all 
comers. 

When  they  arose  from  prayer  at  noon,  the  fakif^,  who  was 


THE    HUKAM.  327 

present  and  solemnly  impressed,  frankly  acknowledged  that 
all  the  religions  of  his  country  were  false;  and,  utterly  dis- 
claiming all  exceptions  in  his  own  favor,  he  said,  "  I,  too,  am 
following  the  life  of  di  fakir'  for  naught  but  my  bread." 

In  view  of  all  that  had  happened  that  forenoon,  Kana^ya 
and  Kau'de  Shah  began  to  feel  ashamed  of  their  lack  of  faith 
and  courage,  and  to  say  one  to  the  other,  "  What  now  is  the 
use  of  our  indulging  any  longer  in  fear,  and  why  go  we  about 
timidly  inquiring  here  and  there?  Let  us  go  straight  up  to 
the  city,  and  boldly  face  the  authorities ;  God  is  our  helper — 
he  will  soften  the  hearts  of  our  enemies.  Come,  let  us  pro- 
ceed at  once." 

Putting  these  resolutions  immediately  into  practice,  they 
started  forthwith  for  the  bazar.  Seeing  multitudes  of  people 
collected  about  the  hall  of  justice,  they  knew  that  the  court 
was  again  in  session ;  and  walking  boldly  into  the  area,  stood 
again  in  the  presence  of  Pan'dit  Sim'bu  Partab',  and  Sai'yad 
Gulam'  Na'bi  Shah,  the  honorable  judges  of  the  Supreme 
Court  of  the  Maharaja  of  Kashmir', 

Kana'ya  saluted  the  Pan'dit  respectfully,  and  said :  "  That 
hu'kam  which  Your  Honor  sent  for — has  it  been  received?" 

The  Pan'dit  arose  from  his  seat,  excited  and  irritated,  as  one 
would  naturally  expect  under  the  circumstances,  whilst  the 
crowd  rushed  together  tumultuously  from  every  side.  Sev- 
eral voices  from  the  throng  were  heard  exclaiming :  "  There 
he  is — there  he  stands — that  is  he  ! " 

A  voice  from  the  platform  said  :  "  Is  this  the  very  Kana'ya 
over  whom  our  whole  city  has  been  these  four  days  troubled?" 

Another  answered ;  '*  Yes,  through  him  our  religion  has 
been  dishonored,  and  our  treaty  with  the  English  broken." 
And  others  said :  "  Will  he  not  renounce  his  Christian  relig- 
ion ? "  These  and  many  more  like  expressions  from  an  ex- 
cited people  fell  upon  Kana'ya's  quick  ears,  as  he  made  his 
appearance  now  for  the  third  time  in  the  capital. 

For  a  few  minutes  the  magnates  who  occupied  the  platform 
got  together  and  held  a  hurried  consultation,  after  which  the 


328  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Pan'dit  stepped  to  the  front  and  addressed  Kana'ya  as  follows : 
"  We  will  make  you  the  master  of  a  village,  and  secure  to  you 
by  law  its  rents ;  or,  if  that  is  not  enough,  we  will  give  you 
two  villages,  or  as  many  as  you  demand,  and  will  restore  your 
wife  and  children  to  you  besides,  if  you  will  deny  Jesus.  Un- 
derstand clearly  that  we  have  both  the  will  and  the  power  to 
make  good  to  you  all  that  we  offer." 

Kana'ya,  addressing  the  honorable  judge  respectfully,  said: 
"  If  you  will  please  only  not  to  be  angry  with  me,  I  will  an- 
swer your  proposal ; "  after  which  he  stood  humbly  awaiting 
permission  to  speak. 

The  Pan'dit  turned  to  those  with  whom  he  had  been  con- 
sulting, and  for  whom  he  acted  as  spokesman,  and  said :  "  We 
must  not  listen  to  any  reply  from  this  man." 

But  others  objecting,  said  to  the  Pan'dit:  "  It  is  right  that 
you  should  hear  his  answer." 

"  Have  I  permission  to  speak?"  Kana'ya  humbly  inquired. 
"  Yes,"   replied   the  Pan'dit,  "  You  are   now  permitted  to 
speak." 

Then  Kana'ya  began :  "  You  have  offered  me  many  things 
of  great  price  if  I  will  deny  I'sa.  Now  I  ask  you  to  give  me 
but  one  thing.  My  precious  Christ  Jesus  has  given  me  salva- 
tion; if  you  will  offer  me  something  of  more  value  than  this, 
I  will  accept ;  but  think  well  before  you  make  the  offer,  and 
remember  my  conditions — you  are  to  show  me  something  bet- 
ter than  Jesus  has  given  me,  before  I  may  deny  him." 

The  Pan'dit  turned  again  to  those  behind  him,  and  said : 
"  We  must  now  stop  asking  this  man  any  more  questions,  else 
will  our  gods  whom  we  worship  be  dishonored.  Well  do  I 
know  these  people,  and  they  will  never  recant." 

''Pan'dit  Sd'hib"  said  a  voice  from  the  platform,  "  if  he  were 
to  be  beaten,  disgraced,  bound  with  cords,  and  have  fire  ap- 
plied to  his  hand,  as  was  the  old  custom,  what  then?  Do  you 
think  he  would  not  recant?" 

The  Pan'dit,  becoming  quite  uneasy  at  the  excitement  mo- 
mentarily increasing,  and  at  the  tumult  which  seemed  immi- 


THE    HUKAM.  329 

nent,  forbade  Kana'ya  to  speak  further,  and  commanded  the 
crowd  to  keep  silence ;  then,  for  the  information  of  all  parties, 
he  added :  "  Well  indeed  do  I  know  these  Christians ;  if  we 
should  cut  them  into  pieces,  inch  by  inch,  they  would  never 
deny  their  faith.  Now,  the  liu'kam  'has  come  from  the  Eng- 
lish that  we  must  give  this  man  his  children,  which  we  have 
agreed  in  council  to  do ;  the  Maharaja! s  Jiu'kani  also  is  to  give 
up  the  children.  Nevertheless,  the  case  rests  in  my  own 
hands,  and  I  have  power  to  trouble  him  or  not,  and  to  honor 
or  dishonor  him,  according  to  my  pleasure." 

After  making  this  speech,  the  Pan'dit  dismissed  Kana'ya, 
with  orders  to  appear  in  court  the  next  day. 

Kana'ya  now  saw  the  situation  at  a  glance.  The  judge, 
by  his  speech,  whilst  virtually  acknowledging  the  inability  of 
the  Maharaja  s  government  to  resist  the  army  of  British  India 
by  force,  yet  assumed  that  he  could  use  resources  of  another 
kind  to  evade  the  peremptory  order  of  the  English — he  could 
resist  it  passively,  and  could  thus  in  course  of  time  wear  out 
the  patience  of  the  poor  petitioner,  preserving  the  honor  of  the 
gods  and  religion  of  the  Hindus,  and  maintaining  intact  the 
reputation  of  those  who  had  pledged  their  word  (and  given 
their  oath,  as  will  presently  appear),  never  to  deliver  up  the 
children  of  Kana'ya. 

As  the  pair  were  returning  from  the  court  to  their  obscure 
lodgings  on  the  river  bank,  they  encouraged  themselves  with 
the  thought  that  now  they  were  not  likely  to  suffer  violence — 
that  whilst  they  might  be  annoyed  by  delay,  their  lives  were 
in  a  measure  secure.  On  their  way  they  were  followed  by  a 
number  of  men,  who  besought  Kana'ya  to  tell  them  about  his 
religion,  and  particularly  why  he  had  become  a  Christian ;  and 
by  the  time  he  had  eaten  his  supper,  and  was  ready  to  talk, 
others  to  the  number  of  more  than  a  score  had  gathered  be- 
neath the  tree  to  listen. 

As  usual,  Kana'ya  put  his  hearers  upon  their  good  behav- 
ior, and  then  having  read  a  chapter  from  his  New  Testament, 
proclaimed  Jesus  Christ  to  be  the  only  Saviour.     As  usual, 


330  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

some  listened  to  the  truth  gladly,  others  became  angry  and 
boisterous,  to  be  subdued  only  by  the  sight  of  the  o\<\  fakir's 
dangerous  club. 

Upon  entering  the  court-house  next  morning,  Kana'ya  was 
informed  by  the  Pan'dit  that  his  wife,  Ramde'i  had  just  ar- 
rived from  Jan'd'i,  and  he  was  ordered  to  wait  until  she  should 
be  brought  into  court.  Whilst  Kana'ya  was  thus  lingering,  in 
obedience  to  the  court,  his  faithful  companion,  Kau'de  Shah, 
opened  the  New  Testament  and  began  to  read  it  publiclyin 
the  court-area  to  the  common  people,  who  crowded  around 
him  to  listen.  Some  of  the  listeners  rebuked  him,  saying, 
"  You  will  ruin  the  people  by  reading  that  book ;  for  whoever 
listens  to  it  is  sure  to  become  perverted."  Then  certain  of 
them  laid  hands  upon  him,  and  taking  him  before  the  Sai'yad, 
the  Muhammadan  judge,  accused  him,  saying,  "  This  man  goes 
about  reading  his  books  to  every  one  who  may  listen,  and  the 
hearts  of  our  people  who  hear  it  will  be  corrupted." 

The  Sai'yad,  summoning  Kau'de  Shah  into  his  presence,  and 
consulting  hastily  with  his  associates,  said,  "  We  will  now  put 
this  man  upon  his  oath  and  make  him  tell  whether  he  is  a 
Muhammadan  or  a  Kira'n'ir 

"Ask  Kana'ya,"  said  the  Pan'dit;  '^he  is  a  Christian,  and 
will  not  tell  a  lie." 

They  then  appealed  to  Kana'ya,  and  said,  "  Speak  the  truth : 
is  this  man  a  Christian,  or  is  he  a  Muhammadan?" 

"  He  is  a  Muhammadan,"  said  Kana'ya;  "but  is  in  search  of 
the  truth.  When  he  becomes  a  Christian  he  will  himself  de- 
clare it  openly." 

The  Sai'yad  then  angrily  commanded  both  Kau'de  Shah 
and  Kana'ya  to  take  their  books  and  begone,  threatening  to 
imprison  them  should  they  not  obey. 

Just  then  Ramde'i,  with  her  babe  in  her  arms,  accompanied 
by  her  brother  and  father-in-law,  was  conducted  by  a  soldier 
into  the  court-hall.  The  Pan'dit,  with  the  ostensible  object  of 
allowing  Ramde'i  time  to  rest,  after  her  fatiguing  journey,  but 
with  the  real  design  of  interviewing  her  and  putting  words  into 


THE    HUKAM.  33  I 

her  mouth,  to  use  when  questioned  in  court,  commanded  Kan- 
a'ya  not  to  leave,  but  to  await  Ramde'i's  appearance  in  the  Hall. 

Both  parties,  Ramde'i  and  her  husband,  at  length  stood  for 
the  first  time  together  in  the  presence  of  the  judge,  who  said 
to  Kana'ya,  "  If  you  and  your  wife  can  now  agree  to  any  terms 
on  which  she  will  give  up  the  children  voluntarily,  I  will  send 
and  have  them  made  over  to  you  ;  but  if  I  use  force,  and  com- 
pel her  to  give  them  up,  she  may  perhaps  go  away  and  de- 
stroy herself  through  grief.    I  will,  therefore,  not  use  force." 

Ramde'i  then  stepped  to  Kana'ya's  side,  and  taking  hold  of 
his  arm,  said,  "  My  husband,  I  am  willing  to  live  with  you, 
and  work  for  you,  and  we  can  live  here  in  Ja'mu,  only  I  beg 
of  you  not  to  confess  Christ  openly." 

Kana'ya,  turning  from  her  to  the  judge,  said  :  "  It  is  for  the 
children,  your  Honor,  that  I  am  pressing  a  legal  claim  in 
court,  and  not  for  my  wife.  If  she  comes  to  me  voluntarily, 
as  she  has  the  liberty  and  power  to  do,  it  is  well ;  but  I  do  not 
wish  to  compel  her.  As  to  my  children,  however,  the  case  is 
very  different ;  they  are  not  at  liberty  to  come  of  their  own 
free  will,  and  no  way  remains  for  them  but  to  be  delivered  to 
me  by  force.  Tell  me  whether  you  decide  to  give  me  my 
children." 

"  No,"  said  the  judge;  "never  can  I  give  such  a  decision  as 
that." 

"Yesterday,"  said  Kana'ya,  "your  Honor  publicly  an- 
nounced that  the  hu'kam  of  the  English  Government  to  give 
up  my  children  had  arrived,  and  that  this  was  the  Im'kam  of 
the  Mahdrdjd  also.  If  you  give  them  not  up  now,  you  are 
disobeying  the  orders  of  both  the  governments." 

It  was  not  to  be  expected  that  the  proud  Brahminical  judge, 
occupying  so  exalted  a  position,  could  endure  without  resent- 
ment such  plain  speaking  from  a  man  in  Kana'ya's  lowly 
position ;  for  indeed,  whenever  the  poor  people  of  oppressed 
India  make  a  show  of  lawful  resistance  to  their  native  official 
oppressors,  it  is  usual  for  the  latter  to  oppress  them  still  more, 
and  if  possible  to  make  them  afraid  to  press  their  complaints ; 


332  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

and  when  Kana'ya  began  thus  to  assert  what  he  knew  to  be 
his  lawful  right,  the  judge  and  others  with  him  showed  both 
anger  and  impatience,  by  indulging  freely  in  the  use  of  abusive 
and  violent  language,  and  finally  the  judge  said:  "Go  away 
now,  and  come  again  to-morrow ;  I  have  the  power  to  sum- 
mon you  into  my  presence  daily  as  long  as  I  please,  and  what 
then  can  you  do  ?  " 

On  leaving  the  court,  Kana'ya  and  his  companion  went  to 
the  shop  of  the  bow-maker,  and  there  publicly  read  the  gospel 
to  as  many  of  the  common  people  as  chose  to  listen ;  and 
though  known  to  all  their  hearers  to  be  the  very  men  about 
whom  so  much  trouble  existed  between  the  MaJi'draja  and  the 
English  Government,  they  were  unmolested ;  an  order,  how- 
ever, was  soon  proclaimed  through  the  city,  forbidding  the 
people  to  shelter  or  in  any  way  assist  them,  and  threatening 
those  who  did  so  with  summary  punishment. 

Upon  their  attending  court  the  following  day,  which  was 
Saturday,  the  judge  raised  irrelevant  questions,  and  made  friv- 
olous objections,  dwelling  especially  upon  Ramde'i's  unwilling- 
ness to  give  up  the  children,  and  declaring  that  as  long  as  she 
was  not  agreed,  Kana'ya  could  never  accomplish  his  purpose. 
Ordering  them  to  appear  again  the  next  day,  he  commanded  a 
soldier  to  take  them  forth,  and  not  suffer  them  to  read  their 
books  or  preach  their  doctrines  to  the  people. 

Sabbath  morning  brought  to  Kana'ya  and  his  companion  a 
degree  of  needful  respite  from  the  exciting  contest  with  the 
court,  and  afforded  them  ample  leisure  for  a  pleasant  and 
profitable  Bible  reading  in  their  secluded  retreat. 

Kana'ya,  feeling  no  necessity  for  any  longer  concealing  his 
personal  affairs  from  the  fak'ir\  now  gratified  the  old  man's 
curiosity  to  the  full,  telling  him  the  story  of  his  own  conver- 
sion, of  the  disappearance  of  his  family,  of  his  several  journeys 
to  the  Ja'mu  court,  of  his  being  driven  out  of  the  city  by  the 
judges,  under  charge  of  a  soldier,  of  his  seeking  seclusion  at 
the  place  where  they  were  now  seated,  and  of  the  present  state 
of  his  case  in  court. 


THE    HUKAM,  333 

The  old  man,  after  listening  to  this  most  interesting  and  ex- 
citing story  with  breathless  attention,  exclaimed  :  "  OJi  ho  !  I 
never  understood  until  now  that  it  is  onyoiir  account  that  all 
this  commotion  has  been  going  on  in  the  city  for  so  many 
days.  What  strong  faith  you  must  have,  that  you  did  not  get 
frightened ! "  Then  the  hoary-headed  man  meditated  for  a 
minute  on  the  prospect,  and  looking  very  patriarchal,  added : 
"  Fear  not;  it  will  all  come  out  in  your  favor.  That  Saviour 
to  whom  you  have  all  along  been  praying — he  will  surely  help 
you." 

"  What  if  the  judge  should  find  out  that  we  are  staying  with 
you,  Sam?"  inquired  Kana'ya,  anxious  to  learn  how  his  host 
would  be  affected  by  this  revelation.  "  An  order  was  pro- 
claimed in  the  city  yesterday  that  whoever  gives  us  shelter  or 
assistance  will  be  arrested.  Now,  if  the  police  should  come 
here  to  arrest  you,  what  would  you  do  ?  " 

"  What  if  they  do  arrest  me  ?  "  said  the  intrepid  old  Sepoy 
fakir' .  "  I  am  not  afraid  ;  I  have  no  children.  And  if  trouble 
really  comes,  why  I  will  take  it  upon  myself;  never  will  I 
2S\.Q>^  yoii  to  suffer." 

The  next  morning  many  came  to  visit  the  fakir' ,  some  of 
whom  presumed  to  warn  him  that  if  he  wished  to  abide  where 
he  was,  he  must  dismiss  those  two  Kird'nis.  But  he  soon 
gave  them  to  understand  that  he  would  neither  send  away  his 
friends  nor  leave  the  place  himself;  on  the  contrary,  he  sent 
thcni  away,  threatening  to  go  no  more  to  their  villages  to  re- 
ceive their  alms — a  threat  which,  though  calculated  only  to 
provoke  a  smile  from  the  enlightened  people  of  Christendom, 
was  dreadful  indeed  to  those  benighted  sons  of  poor  India. 

When  Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah  put  in  their  appearance  at 
court  on  Monday,  the  Pan'dit  assailed  them  with  a  volley  of 
vile  abuse,  and  demanded  of  them  why  they  had  not  appeared 
the  day  before — all  this,  not  because  their  absence  on  a  Sab- 
bath was  really  a  matter  of  particular  importance,  but  because 
he  sought  how  he  might  accuse  them. 

"  Yesterday,"  said  Kana'ya,  "  was  the  Lord's  day,  on  which 


334  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

it  was  not  lawful  for  us  to  attend  to  our  own  business ;  and 
your  Honor  ought  not  so  to  revile  us.  Though  a  great  man 
and  a  judge,  yet  you  use  vile  language,  and  give  us  abuse  just 
as  base  men  of  the  lowest  caste  are  accustomed  to  do — such 
being  the  fruit  of  your  religion." 

The  Pan'dit,  burning  with  anger  at  Kana'ya  for  his  reproof, 
threatened  to  imprison  him  and  his  companion,  and  was  taking 
steps  to  do  this,  when  they  both  manfully  objected,  saying, 
"  We  have  committed  no  crime,  and  do  not  propose  to  run 
away;  why  then  imprison  us?" — upon  which  the  judge  placed 
them  under  arrest,  and  hastened  away  to  the  Malidrajd  to 
make  accusation  against  them,  and  if  possible  obtain  authority 
to  cast  them  into  prison.  The  king  immediately  summoned 
them  into  his  presence,  where  the  judge,  accusing  them,  said, 
"  These  are  the  men,  your  Highness,  who  are  making  so  much 
trouble.  They  go  about  reading  their  Bibles  to  the  people,  per- 
verting them,  and  speaking  against  our  gods  and  our  religion." 

"Why  is  this?"  said  the  king  to  Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah. 
"  Why  do  you  thus  speak  mischievous  words  to  the  people  ?  " 

Kana'ya,  addressing  the  king  with  profound  respect,  an- 
swered, "  You  are  my  lord  the  King,  whilst  I  am  fit  only  to 
receive  your  Highness'  commands.  I  beseech  your  Great 
Clemency  to  give  ear  to  my  humble  petition.  These  Pan'dits 
zndB rah' mans,  who  are  esteemed  among  your  people  as  gods, 
are  continually  using  vile  and  abusive  language  to  us,  and 
telling  the  people  to  do  the  same.  Now  this  much,  O  King, 
I  confess  that  I  did  say  to  the  Pan'dit:  'You  who  are  great 
revile  us  just  as  the  people  of  the  lowest  and  basest  castes  are 
accustomed  to  do;  and  such  is  the  fruit  of  your  religion!' 
This  much,  your  Highness,  I  said  to  the  Pan'dit,  and  for  this 
would  he  cast  me  into  prison.  And  now  deal  with  me  accord- 
ing to  your  royal  pleasure ;  but  first  deign  to  ask  the  PaJi'dit 
himself  whether  or  not  I  have  spoken  the  truth." 

The  Waz'ir',  who  stood  by  the  king,  asked  the  Pan'dit  to 
say  whether  this  was  a  true  representation  ;  to  which  he  an- 
swered in  the  affirmative. 


THE    HUKAM.  335 

The  Pan'dit  was  then  reproved  by  the  Waz'ir' ,  and  ordered 
not  to  make  use  of  abusive  language,  after  which,  at  least 
for  a  time,  he  treated  the  Christians  with  less  rudeness  and 
severity. 

When  they  had  all  left  the  king's  presence,  and  returned  to 
the  court-house,  Ramde'i  being  conducted  into  court,  and 
confronted  with  her  husband,  the  Pan'dit  said  to  her,  "  Deliver 
now  the  children  to  their  father,  for  this  is  the  demand  of  the 
English  government." 

"Only  a  little  while  ago,"  said  Ramde^  to  the  judge,  "you 
instructed  me  not  to  give  up  my  children,  but  now  you  order 
me  to  do  it ;  this  is  unbecoming  in  a  judge.  Only  with  my  life 
will  I  give  up  my  children." 

The  Pan'dit,  after  his  double-dealing  had  thus  been  exposed, 
appeared  ashamed  and  confused,  and  immediately  ordered  a 
sipd'Jii  to  take  Kana'ya  forth  beyond  the  city  limits,  shortly 
after  which  Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah  were  resting  themselves 
at  their  usual  lodging-place. 

On  returning  to  the  court-room  the  next  morning,  Kana'ya 
and  his  companion  took  a  new  road,  by  the  side  of  which,  as 
they  ascended,  they  saw  two  lions  in  a  cage,  and  were  going 
near  to  have  a  look  at  the  noble  beasts,  when  the  keeper  said : 
"  You  cannot  come  near  these  lions  unless  you  take  off  your 
shoes." 

"  Why  put  off  our  shoes  ?"  inquired  Kana'ya. 

"Because,"  said  the  keeper,  "these  animals  are  accounted 
sacred,  and  are  worshiped,  and  to  come  near  them  with  shoes 
on  your  feet  would  be  sacrilegious." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Kana'ya,  "  then  we  will  not  go  near  them, 
for  we  believe  not  in  the  worship  of  animals." 

"  Pray,  what  kind  of  people  are  you,"  inquired  the  keeper, 
"  that  you  pay  not  homage  to  the  noble  lions  ?" 

"  I  am  an  Isa'l"  answered  Kana'ya,  "  and  worship  none  but 
the  living  God,  who  created  all  things." 

The  keeper,  of  course,  being  desirous  of  knowing  what  an 
hii'i  was,  Kana'ya  began  to  explain  as  usual,  when   a  crowd 


336  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

presently  gathered  around  him  and  Kau'de  Shah,  curious  to 
see  the  two  strangers,  and  hear  some  new  thing, 

Kana'ya  had  Httle  more  than  begun  to  explain,  when  a  tax- 
gatherer  in  the  crowd  recognized  him,  and  exclaimed  :  "  Oh  ! 
This  is  that  Kird'ni  whose  case  is  even  now  in  court."  Then 
the  people,  intensely  eager  to  know  about  the  book  and  the 
religion,  gathered  thicker  and  closer  around  our  two  zealous 
evangelists,  whilst  on  the  wayside,  right  in  front  of  the  lions' 
cage,  they  stood  and  preached  until  near  midday.  It  was  on 
such  occasions  as  this  that  Kana'ya  felt  richly  rewarded  for  all 
his  troubles,  disappointments  and  sufferings,  since  the  more  he 
suffered,  the  more  eager  the  common  people  of  Ja'mu  became 
to  know  about  the  book  and  the  new  religion. 

One  of  the  court  clerks  standing  in  the  crowd  as  a  listener, 
openly  said  to  Kana'ya :  "As  long  as  you  give  the  Pan'dit  no 
bribe,  he  will  never  do  anything  for  you ;  it  is  with  this  in  view 
that  he  is  putting  you  off  and  wasting  your  time.  Give  him 
ten  rupees,  and  you  will  see  that  he  will  at  once  give  up  your 
children  and  let  you  go." 

To  this  suggestion  Kana'ya  replied  promptly  and  decidedly 
in  a  loud  voice:  "We  are  Christians.  Our  case  is  not  a  dis- 
honest one,  that  it  should  need  the  aid  of  a  bribe ;  and  not  a 
single  paisd  will  we  give.  Besides,  the  decision  of  the  govern- 
ment is  in  our  favor." 

As  the  preaching,  prolonged  by  occasional  interruptions 
from  the  interested  listeners,  seemed  likely  to  last  for  some 
considerable  time,  a  zealous  Hindu  hastened  to  the  court- 
house to  act  as  informer,  and  said  \.o  the  Pan' dit :  "You  do 
not  well  to  detain  that  Kird'ni  so  long  in  Ja'mu ;  wherever  he 
opens  his  book,  the  people  gather  around  him  to  listen.  Be- 
hold, even  at  this  very  time  he  is  preaching  to  a  crowd  of  two 
or  three  hundred  men  near  by  the  cage  of  lions." 

The  Pan'dit  straightway  ordered  a  soldier  to  go  and  bring 
Kana'ya  into  court ;  but  before  the  soldier  arrived  on  the  spot, 
the  street  preaching  had  ceased,  and  the  preacher  was  on  his 
way  to  the  court-house.     The  soldier,  meeting    him    by  the 


THE    HUKAM.  337 

way,  rudely  accosted  him,  saying :  "  Have  you  no  fear  ?  Come 
with  me  to  the  court,  and  you'll  see  what  will  be  done  to  you ; 
you  will  be  well  punished,  I  assure  you." 

"  Suppose,"  said  Kana'ya,  as  he  promptly  accompanied  the 
soldier,  "that  people  would  ask  yon  who  you  are:  would  you 
not  tell  them  ?  " 

"Of  course  I  would  tell  them,"  said  the  soldier. 
.  -'Very  well,  that  is  what  I  do,"  said  Kana'ya;  "every  one 
asks  me  who  I  am,  and  when  I  tell  them  I  am  an  Isd'i,  they 
next  ask  what  an  Isa'i  is,  and  will  not  let  me  go  until  I  ex- 
plain it  so  that  they  can  understand  it  thoroughly.  Besides, 
we  have  a  command  in  our  book  to  confess  Jesus  Christ,  and 
let  it  be  known  that  we  are  Christians." 

"  Tliat,  I  think,  is  right  enough,"  said  the  soldier. 

"Yes,"  said  Kau'de  Shah,  "these  people" — referring  to 
Christians  in  general  and  to  Kana'ya  in  particular — "are 
speakers  of  truth ;  and  behold  what  trouble  the  Pan'dit  is  giv- 
ing this  man  by  not  delivering  up  his  children!  I  am  a  Mu- 
hammadan,  but  I  can  always  believe  with  perfect  confidence 
whatever  these  people  say.  Nor  indeed  am  I  a  stranger  to 
them,  for  well  do  I  know  them  ;  these  many  years  have  I  been 
a  servant  to  Pd'dr'i  Scott,  who  lives  in  Zafarwal'." 

With  such  words  as  these  the  soldier's  heart  had  been  com- 
pletely softened  towards  his  two  prisoners  by  the  time  he  had 
brought  them  into  court. 

When  the  Pan'dit  raised  his  eyes  and  saw  the  two  "  cul- 
prits" standing  in  his  presence,  he  exclaimed:  "Impious 
wretches!  you  go  about  reading  your  books,  and  speaking 
words  which  we  forbade  you  to  speak!"  Then  turning  to  the 
soldier,  he  said :  "  Did  you  not  see  them  reading  and  preach- 
ing to  a  crowd  of  people?" 

"  I  did  not,"  replied  the  soldier ;  "  they  were  on  their  way 
here  when  I  met  them."  Then,  beseechingly,  addressing  the 
judge,  he  said,  "  Please,  Pan'dit  Sd'hib,  be  not  so  angry  with 
these  men  ;  they  are  very  good  people." 

"  Hast  thou  also  become  an  infidel  and  swine-eater  ?  "  im- 


338  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

petuously  demanded  the  angry  judge  of  the  half-converted 
sipd'h'i;  "  Knowest  thou  not  that  these  Kira'nis  eat  pigs  and 
cows  ?  and  yet  thou  standest  before  me  to  plead  their  wicked 
cause!     I  will  dismiss  thee  from  the  government  service." 

The  poor  trembling  soldier,  terrified  at  the  Pan'difs  angry 
threat,  put  his  hands  together  after  the  manner  of  humble  sup- 
pliants, and  craved  forgiveness,  pleading  that  he  had  not  gone 
so  far  as  to  eat  with  these  people.  Kana'ya,  at  the  same  time, 
entreated  the  Pan'dit  to  give  some  kind  of  decision  in  his  case, 
and  urged  as  a  reason  why  it  should  not  be  delayed  any  longer 
that  his  money  was  all  spent. 

The  Sai'yad,  at  this  juncture,  though  having  no  jurisdiction 
in  Kana'ya's  case,  interposed  a  question  about  eating  and 
drinking  :  "  Is  it  true,"  said  he,  "  that  as  soon  as  a  man  is 
made  a  Christian  he  is  forced  to  eat  pork  and  beef?  " 

Now  the  grossly  ignorant  Hindus  believe  that  "perverts" 
from  their  ranks  to  the  Christian  religion  are  initiated  by  being 
forced  to  eat  beef;  and  the  most  ignorant  of  the  Muhamma- 
dans  likewise  believe  that  "  renegades"  from  their  faith  are  re- 
quired to  eat  pork.  But  these  learned  judges,  whilst  imbued 
with  the  common  notion  that  eating  and  drinking  affect  the 
moral  standing  of  men  in  the  sight  of  God,  were  not  so  ignorant 
as  to  need  light  on  the  particular  point  raised  by  the  Sai'yad. 
Kana'ya,  knowing  that  Muhammadans  tolerate  Hindu  pork- 
eaters,  and  that  Hindus  tolerate  Muhammadan  beef-eaters, 
•whilst  they  cordially  unite  in  persecuting  Christians,  and  per- 
ceiving the  animus  of  the  Sai'yad' s  question,  retorted  with 
spirit:  "I  will  now  answer  this  question,"  said  he,  "  whether 
your  Honor  becomes  angry  or  not:  Muhammadans  eat  the 
.flesh  of  cows,  and  Hindus  eat  the  flesh  of  pigs,  yet  you  freely 
.associate  with  one  another." 

When  he  had  proceeded  thus  far,  Kau'de  Shah,  fearing  his 
friend  might  provoke  beyond  measure  the  high-spirited  gentle- 
men of  caste,  reached  behind  him  and  plucked  his  garment  as 
a  signal  to  stop;  but  Kana'ya  continued :  "As  for  me,  no  one 
has  ever  seen  me  eating  either  pork  or  beef,  though  we  do  not 


THE    HUKAM.  339 

regard  the  eating  to  be  a  sin ;  for  our  Lord  has  taught  us  that 
what  goes  into  a  man's  mouth  does  not  defile  him  before  God, 
but  what  comes  out  of  it,  such  as  vile  and  abusive  languag-c." 

The  Sai'yad,  without  attempting  a  reply,  turned  to  the  Pan'- 
dit  and  said,  "You  do  not  well,  Pan'dit  Sd'hib,  in  keeping  this 
case  so  long  in  hand.  The  whole  city  is  in  a  state  of  agitation 
about  it ;  and  if  this  comes  to  the  Maharaja! s  ears,  what  will 
he  say?" 

Kana'ya  and  Kau'de  Shah  were  then  ordered  to  go  away 
for  that  day,  and  to  put  in  their  appearance  the  next  morning. 
Having  nothing  to  eat  and  no  money  with  which  to  buy  food, 
Kau'de  Shah  started  for  Sial'kot  to  obtain  a  new  supply,  as 
well  as  to  report  to  the  brethren  the  progress  of  affairs  in 
Ja'mu. 

The  day  after  Kau'de  Shah  left  Ja'mu  was  Saturday,  the 
seventeenth  day  that  they  had  been  detained  in  Ja'mu  on  this 
third  visit.  That  day  Kana'ya  went  up  to  the  court,  and  said 
to  the  Pan'dit,  "  If  you  will  not  give  me  my  children,  then 
please  give  me  your  refusal  in  writing,  and  let  me  go." 

Up  to  this  time  Kana'ya  had  never  even  once  appeared 
without  his  faithful  Kau'de  Shah  by  his  side.  Immediately 
upon  his  entering  the  court-room  on  this  occasion,  the  Pan'dit 
at  once  observed  that  he  was  alone,  and  inquired  what  had  be- 
come of  his  friend. 

"  Our  food  and  money  are  spent,"  said  Kana'ya,  "  and  he 
has  gone  to  Sial'kot  for  a  new  supply;  and  if  you  will  only 
give  me  an  answer  about  my  children  in  writing  as  I  have  re- 
quested, I,  too,  will  go  away." 

"Now  I  can  punish  you,"  said  the  Pan'dit,  "for  I  have  you 
alone,  and  you  have  no  witness." 

Kan'aya,  who  perfectly  understood  the  import  of  this  out- 
rageous threat,  and  knew  that  the  so-called  judges  who  had 
him  in  their  power  were  quite  capable  of  putting  the  threat 
into  execution,  was  greatly  overcome  with  fear.  His  only 
witness  being  now  absent,  his  enemies  could  do  with  him  as 
they  chose,  and  he  would  have  no  friend  to  carry  a  true  report 


340  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

of  their  actions  to  the  EngHsh  Government.  After  recovering 
somewhat  from  his  trepidation,  he  said  to  the  judge:  "You 
say  that  I  have  no  witness.  But,  O  Judge  Sd'hib,  know  you 
not  that  the  great  God  is  everywhere  present,  and  sees  all 
things  ?  You  can,  I  know,  destroy  my  body,  but  with  that 
your  power  ceases." 

These  searching  words  troubled  the  half-enlightened  con- 
science of  the  Pan'dit,  who  peremptorily  commanded  Kana'ya 
to  hold  his  peace,  and  at  the  same  time  bade  him  remain  until 
certain  urgent  business  in  hand  should  be  finished.  Before  he 
was  through  with  the  business  that  occupied  him,  the  time 
arrived  for  the  court  to  adjourn,  when  the  Pan'dit  called  Kan- 
a'ya and  said,  tauntingly  :  "  Now  what  will  you  do  ?  You  will 
have  to  return  to-morrow.     Go." 

Kana'ya  remonstrated  with  the  two  judges,  saying:  "My 
lords,  you  are  here  to  administer  justice.  I  have  not  com- 
mitted any  crime,  and  yet  I  have  been  compelled  to  sit  here 
the  whole  day;  and  after  all  this  I  am  simply  ordered  to  go 
away  and  come  again  to-morrow." 

At  this  remonstrance  both  judges  became  quite  indignant, 
but  Kana'ya  continued:  "  You  are  here,  one  a  Hindu  and  the 
other  a  Muhammadan,  to  administer  justice,  but  this  is  not 
justice;  it  is  rank  injustice." 

The  Pan'dit  turned  upon  Kana'ya  with  a  volley  of  such 
loud  and  angry  abuse,  as  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  crowd, 
adding:  "  You  trust  in  God  that  he  is  everywhere  present  and 
all-seeing,  but  how  can  he  deliver  your  children  out  of  my 
hand?  Cease  contending  just  now,  or  I  will  punish  you 
severely.  Not  another  word,  and  see  to  it  that  you  be  present 
on  the  morrow." 

"  If  you  please,"  Kana'ya  still  ventured  to  remonstrate,  "to- 
morrow is  the  Sabbath  day,  and  I  will  not  come  to  court." 

The  Pan'dit  knew  the  law  of  the  Christian  Sabbath,  and 
knew  well  that  throughout  the  British  Indian  empire,  instead 
of  men  being  compelled  in  this  way  to  attend  court  in  viola- 
tion of  their  religious  obligations,  courts  of  justice  were  ad- 


THE    HUKAM.  341 

journed  on  all  days  religiously  observed  by  any  and  every 
denomination,  Hindu,  Muhammadan,  and  Christian;  but  he 
was  seeking  how  he  might  ensnare  Kana'ya,  and  here  was  his 
opportunity — he  could  charge  him  with  refusing  to  obey  an 
order  of  the  court.  "  You  must  appear  in  court  to-morrow^' 
said  he ;  "  this  is  my  hu'kam,  and  if  you  disobey,  I  will  not 
only  punish  you,  but  throw  your  case  out  of  court." 

Kana'ya,  firmly  adhering  to  what  he  believed  to  be  right, 
replied  with  decision  and  firmness:  "  I  cannot  come  into  court 
to-morrow — no,  not  on  any  consideration  whatever.  We 
ought  to  obey  God  rather  than  man." 

The  Pan'dit  then  delivered  up  Kana'ya  to  a  soldier,  with 
orders  to  conduct  him  out  of  the  city,  and  at  the  same  time 
shouted  at  him  vehemently :  "  Who  is  that  God  that  can  deliver 
yoii  out  of  my  hands,  if  yon  come  not  to-morrow  as  I  have  ordered 
you?'' 

The  Sai'yad,  together  with  the  court  clerks  and  others  on 
the  platform,  chimed  in  with  the  Pan'dit,  saying :  "  Yes,  if  he 
does  not  come  into  court  to-morrow,  as  you  have  ordered  him, 
you  have  the  power  to  punish  him ;  and  until  you  do  beat 
him  and  imprison  him,  Pan'dit  Sd'hib,  he  will  never  cease  to 
contend  with  you." 

The  Pan'dit  then,  acccording  to  the  usual  manner  of  taking 
a  solemn  oath,  held  his  Brahminical  thread  in  his  hand,  and 
swore  publicly  and  formally  in  these  words:  '*  I  will  sicrely 
beat  and  imprison  Kana'ya  if  he  come  not  to-morrozu ;"  after 
which  he  repeated  his  order  to  the  soldier,  who  immediately 
led  Kana'ya  outside  of  the  city  limits. 

"  My  persecutors  many  are, 
And  foes  that  do  combine; 
Yet  from  Thy  testimonies  pure, 
My  heart  doth  not  decHne." 

As  Kana'ya  was  being  led  down  the  public  bazar,  weak 
and  faint  from  hunger,  he  begged  of  the  sipa'Jd  who  had  him 
in  charge,  permission  to  buy  a  few  parched  peas.  The  soldier, 
fearing  to   grant  his  prisoner  this  liberty  openly,  refused  at 


342  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

first,  saying  that  he  had  no  such  order  as  this ;  but  after- 
wards, upon  Kana'ya's  using  earnest  entreaties,  and  pleading 
that  he  had  actually  been  detained  in  court  the  whole  day 
without  a  morsel  of  food,  he  took  Kana'ya's  paisd,  and  buying 
the  peas  himself,  handed  them  to  him  after  they  were  beyond 
the  city  limits,  saying :  "  No  one  now  will  know  that  I  have 
done  this  for  you." 

Kana'ya  was  soon  seated  on  his  blanket  under  the  hospit- 
able tree  in  the  secluded  ravine,  beside  his  hermit  friend  of  the 
straw  hut.  Could  my  readers  see  this  wretched  creature,  now 
Kana'ya's  only  companion,  they  would  doubtless  turn  away 
in  disgust,  not  wishing  even  to  look  upon  such  a  poor  filthy 
old  skeleton ;  and  possibly  they  might  altogether  refuse  to 
own  him  as  their  fellow-man.  But  Kana'ya  had  come  to  value 
him  as  a  staunch  friend ;  and  now,  missing  his  faithful  and 
constant  Kau'de  Shah,  and  feeling  more  dejected  and  sorrow- 
ful than  ever  at  the  dark  prospect  of  his  affairs,  he  was  drawn 
more  closely  to  the  old  man,  who,  on  his  part,  felt  drawn  more 
closely  to  Kana'ya;  and  regardless  of  outward  appearance, 
heart  responded  to  heart  in  tender  sympathy. 

"  Pray,  what  is  the  condition  of  your  affairs  now  ?  "  inquired 
\hQ  fakir' ,  with  concern.  "  This  time  you  have  stayed  away 
the  whole  day." 

Kana'ya,  weary,  hungry,  sorrowful,  and  really  too  faint  to  en- 
gage in  conversation,  briefly  responded,  "  True,  Sain,*  but  I 
feel  too  tired  to  tell  you  much  just  now.  The  judges  actually 
placed  a  soldier  over  me  to-day,  as  if  I  had  been  a  criminal, 
and  kept  me  under  guard  all  day  long,  so  that  I  was  compelled 
to  go  hungry.  I  must  first  eat  these  peas  and  drink  some 
water;  then  will  I  tell  you  all  about  it," 

"  No,  Sa'liib"  said  \\\Q.fak'lr\  "  I  cannot  see  you  fasting  up- 
on that  handful  of  dry  peas;  I  have  here  four  pice,  which 
will  pay  for  bread  enough  for  both  of  us  ;  I  will  go  straight- 
way and  buy  it."     And  the  decrepit  old  man  seemed  to  have 

*  Sdin,  equivalent  to  Reverend  Sir,  only  more  respectful. 


THE    HUKAM.  343 

renewed  his  youth  as  he  hastened  away  to  invest  his  few  pen- 
nies— all  that  he  possessed  in  the  world — in  something  better 
than  parched  peas  for  his  distressed  guest. 

And  now,  having  refreshed  themselves  with  bread  and  water, 
they  talked  over  the  events  of  the  day.  The  fak'ir',  from  the 
bottom  of  his  heart,  sympathized  with  Kana'ya  in  all  his  trou- 
bles; and  when  a  late  hour  had  arrived,  he  said,  "  Now  will  I 
listen  while  you  pray;  your  God  is  surely  able  to  soften  their 
hard  hearts."  So  Kana'ya  knelt  and  prayed ;  and  when  prayer 
was  ended  he  found  his  friend  had  fallen  into  a  sound  sleep, 
which  he  had  no  disposition  to  disturb. 

No  refreshing  sleep  came  that  night  to  soothe  the  troubled 
soul  of  poor  Kana'ya  and  enable  him  temporarily  to  forget  his 
sorrow.  Accustomed  to  gather  leaves  from  the  jungle  and 
spread  them  under  his  blanket  on  the  raised  ground  for  a  bed, 
he  was  now  too  sorrow-stricken  and  too  much  harassed  with 
vexing  thoughts  to  think  of  taking  rest.  Dejected  and  almost 
upon  the  verge  of  despair  as  he  reflected  upon  the  events  of 
the  past  day,  and  conjectured  the  probabilities  of  the  morrow, 
he  said  to  himself,  "  The  unjust  judge's  hatred  seems  to  know 
no  bounds.  His  cruel  and  arbitrary  command  for  me  to  at- 
tend court  on  the  Sabbath  must  be  obeyed,  or  I  am  to  be  pun- 
ished ;  for  he  has  openly  and  solemnly  taken  his  oath  that 
he  will  beat  me  and  imprison  me,  and  he  cannot  break  his 
oath  without  compromising  his  character  as  a  judge,  with  both 
Hindus  and  Muhanmiadans.  The  whole  court  is  combined 
against  me,  and  can  do  with  me  as  they  please;  I  stand  alone 
and  have  no  one  now  to  testify  in  my  favor,  whilst  my  enemies 
can  readily  hire  any  number  of  lying  witnesses  to  deceive  the 
English  authorities.  Vain  is  the  help  of  man — to-  God  only- 
will  I  look." 

Thus  soliloquizing  and  thus  resolving,  the  lonely  Christian: 
stood,  instead  of  lying,  upon  his  blanket,  beside  the  hut  of  his. 
slumbering  friend,  in  the  solemn  stillness  and  weird  solitude 
— a  solitude  deepened  by  the  wildest  and  grandest  overhang- 
ing mountain  scenery — pleading  with  him  who  not  only  hears. 


344  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

but  answers  the  prayers  of  the  persecuted — "  O  my  God,  my 
compassionate  Saviour,  thou  who  dost  pity  thine  own  servants, 
have  pity  upon  me,  have  pity !  I  am  poor  and  needy.  I  am 
not  able  to  do  anything,  and  have  no  helper  but  thee.  Save 
me  and  my  children  from  the  hands  of  those  that  hate  me  and 
oppress  me!  My  children!  My  children!  O  Lord,  save 
them,  for  Jesus'  sake!" 

These  ejaculations  from  a  believing  soul  in  deep  distress 
ascended  all  night  until  the  break  of  day. 

During  the  greater  part  of  that  Sabbath  day  \hQ  fakir'  was 
absent  at  some  neighboring  hamlet  on  business.  Kana'ya, 
after  bathing  in  the  Ta'wi,  and  breakfasting  on  his  parched 
peas,  sat  in  the  shade,  reading  aloud  from  his  New  Testament. 
From  the  place  where  he  sat,  an  occasional  pedestrian  was  to 
be  seen  passing  down  the  ravine  by  a  footpath  not  far  distant, 
and  every  one,  on  seeing  a  man  with  an  open  book  in  his 
hand,  came  near  and  stopped,  until  an  audience  of  a  score  or 
more  were  quietly  listening  to  the  story  of  the  Holy  Child  born 
at  Bethlehem.  Both  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  generally 
listen  respectfully  to  the  reading  of  the  Bible,  and  other  books 
claiming  to  be  from  God,  but  immediately  upon  the  reader 
closing  the  book  and  beginning  to  speak,  they  are  almost  sure 
to  interrupt  him.  To  the  frequent  questions,  therefore,  by 
which  Kana'ya's  auditors  sought  to  draw  him  into  contro- 
versy, he  quietly  replied  that  he  wished  to  read  for  a  while, 
his  object  being  to  avoid  controversy  if  possible  as  long  as  he 
was  entirely  alone. 

The  fakir' ,  immediately  on  his  return,  was  eager  to  know 
how  the  people  had  behaved,  and  glad  to  learn  that  they  had 
not  contradicted  Kana'ya  nor  given  him  any  trouble.  Now 
that  Kana'ya  was  no  longer  alone,  he  felt  emboldened  to  open 
his  mouth  and  speak  freely. 

One  of  the  hearers  responded  very  heartily,  declaring  repeat- 
edly that  what  Kana'ya  read  and  taught  was  sack  bat  (true 
words).  "  But,"  said  he,  "  for  a  man  to  forsake  father  and 
mother  and  children,    as  you  are  doing,  is  very  difficult.     It  is 


THE    HUKAM.  345 

impossible.  Such  trouble  as  you  have  had  in  this  very  court 
of  Ja'mu,  no  one  could  endure  patiently." 

Whilst  this  man  was  making  these  concessions  and  friendly 
remarks,  he  was  jealously  eyed  by  a  half-educated  Muham- 
madan  priest,  who,  breaking  out  at  length,  said  to  him  :  "  Dost 
thou  also  confess  that  this  doctrine  is  true  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  said  the  first  speaker,  "  the  words  written  in  his  book 
are  true.  The  Son  of  Mary  is  ascended  up  to  the  seventh 
heaven,  and  lives.  This  is  correct,  exactly  correct."  And 
then  he  clinched  it  all  by  appealing  to  the  Books  of  Moses, 
and  to  the  Psalms,  and  finally  declaring  that  according  to  the 
Koran  itself,  Jesus  is  RuJui-l-ldh  (Spirit  of  God).  Kana'ya 
then  followed  up  these  declarations  by  reading  the  passage  in 
Luke,  i.  26-36,  in  which  Jesus  is  called  the  "  Son  of  God',' 
quoting  also  the  testimony  of  John  the  Baptist  on  this  impor- 
tant point. 

On  hearing  these  things,  the  whole  company  rose  up  and 
said  :  "  This  preacher  of  blasphemy  is  worthy  of  death ! " 

"Y^XQ.  fakir' ,  thinking  it  high  time  to  assert  his  authority  once 
more,  said  to  the  angry  priest:  "Do  you  see  this?" — pointing 
as  he  spoke  to  his  great  club — "you  had  better  leave." 

The  party  moved  slowly  away,  disputing  among  themselves 
as  they  went,  some  persistently  affirming  that  the  preacher's 
words  were  true,  whilst  others  pronounced  them  blasphemy. 

The  man  who  had  openly  insisted  upon  the  truth  of  Kan- 
a'ya's  readings  and  teachings,  and  ha.d  virtually  confessed  that 
Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God,  was  deprived  of  the  privilege  of 
eating,  drinking,  or  smoking  with  his  Muhammadan  brethren 
until  he  should  give  a  feast  to  ten  \vo\y  fakirs. 

When  our  old  friend,  \\\q  fakir' ,  went  that  day  to  buy  bread, 
he  found  that  intense  excitement  existed  in  the  neighborhood 
against  the  man  who  had  confessed  that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of 
God,  and  was  himself  squarely  challenged  to  answer  for  hav- 
ing agreed  to  a  Christian's  teaching  about  Christ;  to  all  of 
which  he  replied  that  he  had  not  eaten  with  Christians.  On 
returning  to  his  hut,  he  related  everything  to  Kana'ya,  and 


346  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

invited  him  to  eat.     Kana'ya,  however,  declined  the  invitation. 
His  heart  was  so  heavy  that  he  felt  no  disposition  to  eat. 

After  \X\&  fakir'  had  fallen  asleep  that  night,  Kana'ya  again 
stood,  as  he  had  done  the  previous  night,  pleading  with  God 
earnestly  and  unceasingly  in  prayer,  until  another  day  dawned 
upon  him.  Feeling  exhausted,  he  did  not  go  down  that  morn- 
ing for  his  usual  bath  in  the  river,  but  reserved  his  strength  for 
cioine  to  the  court-house.  As  the  time  drew  near  for  him  to 
start,  he  thought  of  the  threat  which  the  Pan'dit  had  made  on 
the  preceding  Saturday,  of  the  solemn  oath  to  carry  out  that 
threat,  and  of  the  sullen  murmur  which  had  risen  against  him- 
self from  every  one  in  the  court-room;  and  the  prospect  looked 
so  dark  and  hopeless  that  his  heart  sank  within  him.  Whilst 
slowly  and  sadly  gathering  his  books  and  blanket,  and  making 
up  his  little  bundle,  he  said  despondingly  to  Xh^  fakir' :  "  My 
brother,  I  know  not  how  it  will  go  with  me  to-day.  If  I  re- 
turn not  to-day  or  to-morrow,  then  please  take  word,  or  send 
word,  to  my  friends  at  Scott  garh,  that  you  have  lost  trace  of 
Kana'ya.  Make  sure  that  they  receive  word.  Here  are  twelve 
pice,  all  that  remain  to  me ;  eight  of  these  I  leave  with  you. 
Forget  not  to  inform  my  friends  in  Scott  garh  somehow.  If  I 
live,  and  we  meet  again,  you  shall  have  a  good  hut  near  me  at 
Scott  garh."  The  old  man  promised  faithfully ;  and  Kana'ya 
departed. 

As  Kana'ya  was  ascending  the  mountain  side,  to  his  great 
surprise,  a  Brahmin,  an  oldacquaintanceand  friend  from  Zafar- 
wal',  meeting  him,  inquired  very  kindly  into  his  circumstances, 
and  lent  him  four  rupees.  He  also  made  friendly  inquiries  about 
Ra'ma  and  Ramde'i,  to  which  Kana'ya  answered  that  he  had 
seen  them  in  court  three  weeks  before,  but  was  totally  igno- 
rant of  their  present  condition,  not  even  knowing  where  they 
were.  The  Brahmin  then  went  his  way,  after  which  Kana'ya 
saw  him  no  more. 

In  front  of  the  Pan'difs  fine  residence,  high  above  the  city, 
is  a  large  open  bathing  tank  constructed  of  mason-work,  with 
long  steps  at  its  four  sides,  down  which  hundreds  of  Hindus 


THE    HUKAM.  34/ 

may  often  be  seen  descending  for  a  bath.  Beside  the  tank 
stands  a  magnificent,  wide-spreading  sTiade  tree.  On  this 
same  Monday  morning,  whilst  Kana'ya  was  mournfully  wend- 
ing his  way  up  to  the  court-house,  a  great  multitude  of  gayly 
dressed  Hindus  were  gathering  at  the  tank  to  enjoy  their  bath, 
loll  in  the  shade,  and  sate  themselves  at  the  luxurious  feast 
preparing  at  the  Pan'difs  house  for  three  hundred  Brahmins. 
As  we  may  readily  understand,  it  was  a  busy  day  with  the 
Pan'dit,  who  having  on  the  previous  Saturday  announced  that 
his  court  would  be  closed,  had  now  no  intention  whatever  of 
attending  at  the  court-room. 

As  Kana'ya  dragged  himself  into  the  court-house  that  morn- 
ing, utterly  hopeless  of  success,  and  harassed  with  dreadful 
forebodings  of  evil,  behold  the  Pan'dit  himself  sitting  alone  on 
the  platform,  awaiting  his  arrival ! 

Saluting  Kana'ya,  to  all  appearance,  in  a  most  friendly  man- 
ner, and  eagerly  beckoning  him  to  come  near,  the  Pan'dit  said : 
"  Kana'ya,  can  you  not  devise  some  plan  by  which  those  chil- 
dren may  be  made  over  to  you,  only  not  in  presence  of  their 
mother,  lest  she,  seeing  them  taken  from  before  her  eyes,  may 
kill  herself  in  despair?" 

As  the  Pan'dit  uttered  these  unexpected  words,  evidently 
agitated  the  while  by  some  mysterious  and  intense  mental  ex- 
citement, Kana'ya  knew  not  what  to  think,  and  was  utterly  at 
a  loss  how  or  what  to  reply.  The  current  of  his  thoughts, 
emotions,  and  passions,  which  had  been  flowing  strong  and 
deep  in  his  bosom  for  many  months,  was  now  suddenly  ar- 
rested in  its  course;  the  mystery,  too,  in  which  this  sudden 
turn  of  affairs  was  veiled,  bewildered  him  and  made  him  feel 
"  like  them  that  dream." 

As  soon  as  he  could  collect  his  confused  thoughts,  he  said  to 
the  judge :  ''Pan'dit  Sd'hib,  why  do  you  treat  me  thus  ?  Only 
a  little  while  ago  you  were  very  angry  with  me,  and  took 
an  oath  that  you  would  surely  punish  me;  and  now  you  say, 
'Take  your  children.'  I  understand  you  not.  Perhaps  you 
are  deceiving  me;  but  if  not,  please  devise  some  plan  yourself." 


348  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

"  I  will  explain,"  said  the  Pan'dit,  speaking  hurriedly,  and 
glancing  about  to  see  that  no  one  was  near ;  "  but  first  of  all, 
Kana'ya,  tell  me  what  you  ivere  doing  last  niglit!' 

Upon  hearing  this  inquiry,  Kana'ya  was  overwhelmed  with 
fear,  believing  that  he  was  now  about  to  be  arrested  on  a  false 
charge  of  theft,  and  amid  great  trepidation  he  answered :  "  I 
was  not  doing  anything  at  all,  your  Honor — that  God  who  is 
the  living  God,  Jam  last  night  was  I  worshiping  the  whole 
night  long.  Besides  this,  was  there  aught  else  left  for  me  to 
do?" 

The  Pan'dit,  perceiving  Kana'ya's  fear  and  amazement,  en- 
deavored to  soothe  him.  It  was  early  in  the  day,  and  there 
was  no  other  person  in  the  court-room  save  their  two  selves. 
The  Pan'dit  invited  him  to  the  platform — an  act  of  marvelous 
condescension  which  astonished  Kana'ya  still  more — and  with 
all  gentleness  and  kindness  seated  him  by  his  own  side,  to 
show  that  there  was  no  sham  or  deception  in  what  he  was  do- 
ing. Then,  cautioning  Kana'ya  to  converse  in  a  low  tone,  lest 
some  one  should  overhear,  he  hurriedly  and  excitedly  ex- 
plained as  follows :  "  Kana'ya,  I  am  very  busily  engaged  pre- 
paring a  great  feast  which  I  am  giving  at  my  house ;  my  court 
is  therefore  closed  to-day ;  but  I  have  come  down  solely  to  at- 
tend to  your  case.  Last  night  I  could  not  sleep.  When  I  had 
lain  down  upon  my  bed,  behold  two  persons  stood  before  me 
as  in  a  dream,  and  said,  'Arise,  my  good  man,  and  give  that 
poor  fellow  his  children  ! '  I  immediately  arose  from  my  bed 
and  looked  everywhere  ;  but,  lo  !  there  was  no  one  to  be  seen. 
I  reflected  on  this  deeply,  and  lay  me  down  again  ;  but  before 
I  had  closed  my  eyes,  and  while  I  lay  half  awake,  the  two 
strange  visitors  again  stood  in  front  of  me  as  before,  and  said, 
'  Why  do  you  oppress  that  man  ?  Give  up  his  children !  Have 
you  not  received  a  Jm'kain  ?  "  But  it  is  not  necessary,"  the 
Pan'dit  continued,  "  for  me  to  relate  evciy  thing ;  it  would  take 
too  long,  and  I  am  in  a  great  hurry.  There  is  my  oath,  too : 
if  people  hear  that  I  have  broken  it,  they  will  close  my  mouth. 
But  to  be  short,  Kana'ya,  those  visits  were  repeated  over  and 


THE    HUKAM,  349 

over  again  all  night  long  until  morning.  I  did  not  at  all  in- 
tend to  be  here  to-day.  That  great  feast  takes  place  at  my 
house.  The  court  is  adjourned,  and  I  am  here  on  this  very 
business — to  give  you  your  children,  and  for  this  alone.  How 
shall  it  be  done  ?" 

Kana'ya  still  felt  stupefied  and  bewildered  by  the  sudden 
and  unexpected  turn  of  his  affairs,  as  it  forced  itself  upon  his 
mental  vision,  not  even  waking  up  sufficiently  to  perceive  that 
God's  own  liu'kam  had  come  at  last  in  answer  to  his  fervent 
prayers;  and  he  passively, left  the  whole  matter  to  the  judg- 
ment of  the  Pan'dit  himself 

"  See  here,  then,"  said  the  Pan'dit,  "your  wife,  with  her  babe 
and  her  brother  and  your  father,  are  here  in  Ja'mu,  detained  in 
prison.' 

"  What !  in  prison  ?  And  have  you  kept  them  here  all  this 
time,  never  allowing  me  so  much  as  to  see  them  or  speak  to 
them  ?" 

"  The  reason  of  it,"  explained  the  Pan'dit,  "  is  this :  if  you 
were  permitted  to  speak  to  your  wife,  perhaps  she  might  con- 
sent to  go  with  you,  and  then  our  oath  would  be  broken ;  for 
I*  and  Sdldr  De'va  Singh,  and  all  the  members  of  council, 
bound  ourselves  by  a  solemn  oath  never  to  permit  you  to 
meet  your  family.  This  is  why  she  is  detained  in  prison;  all 
are  determined  that  you  shall  have  no  opportunity  of  speaking 
toiler.  But  why  need  I  further  explain  ?  It  is  getting  late; 
I  must  attend  to  my  feast,  and  cannot  possibly  delay.  The 
plan  which  I  advise  now  is  this  :  let  neither  Ramde'i,  nor  her 
brother,  nor  your  father,  nor  any  member  of  the  council,  know 
anything  about  this,  but  come  up  with  me  to  my  residence. 
I  am  pressed  for  time  myself,  but  the  sheriff"  is  there.  He  will 
give  you  a  soldier,  who  will  go  with  you  to  Jan'di,  De'va 
Singh's  village,  and  when  that  soldier  sees  you  and  the  chil- 
dren safe  over  the  line  within  British  territory,  and  returns 
here  to  Ja'mu,  then  will  I  release  Ramde'i  and  those  with  her, 

*  Among  these  people,  contrary  to  our  usage,  the  speaker  mentions  himself 
first. 


350  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

I  cannot  stop  now  to  make  a  long  explanation,  only  I  have 
decided  to  break  my  oath  in  this  matter;  but  if  others  hear  of 
it,  they  will  surely  not  break  theirs.  Think  not  that  I  am  de- 
ceiving you ;  I  am  doing  this  because  of  the  suffering  which  I 
endured  last  night  on  your  account.  What  you  were  doing 
in  the  night  is  a  mystery  to  me ;  and  if  I  delay  giving  you 
your  children,  it  is  impossible  to  foretell  what  dreadful  calam- 
ity may  happen.  This  also  I  confess :  he  in  whom  you  be- 
lieve AND  WHOM  you  WORSHIP,  IS  THE  TRUE  GoD.  Come  now 
with  me  to  my  house." 

There  are  two  words  used  for  the  pronoun  you — turn  and 
tu'si.  The  latter  is  a  friendly  form  of  address,  which  sounds 
very  sweet  and  loving  to  a  Panjabi  peasant,  especially  when 
used  by  his  superior;  and  now  for  the  first  time  in  all  his  in- 
terview with  Kana'ya,  the  Pan'dit,  in  saying,  "  He  on  whom 
yoii  believe,"  used  the  word  tu'si  instead  oi  turn. 

Just  as  the  Pan'dit  and  Kana'ya  rose  up  to  leave,  Sai'yad 
Gulam'  Na'b'i  Shah  entered  the  court-room,  to  whom  the  Pan'- 
dit confided  his  scheme  in  part,  saying:  '^Sai'yad  Sd'hib,  I 
have  devised  a  plan  by  which  those  children  can  be  delivered 
up,  and  will  tell  you  more  about  it  at  another  time." 

The  .S<i'/'j'^(^  assenting,  replied:  "Yes,  to  give  them  up  is 
well,  for  this  case  has  filled  the  whole  city  with  noise  and  con- 
fusion. The  minds  of  the  people  are  being  disturbed,  and  cer- 
tain of  our  own  people  are  beginning  to  say  that  our  prophet 
Muhammad  was  a  sinner,  and  are  advancing  logical  arguments 
to  prove  it.  Ever  so  many  of  our  learned  priests,  also,  have 
been  coming  to  me  and  asking  seriously :  'Is  it  true,  or  is  it 
false,  that  Christ  is  Riihu-l-ldh  (Spirit  of  God)  ?  Is  it  true,  or 
is  it  false,  that  Jesus  Christ  lives  and  is  in  heaven^  and  that  Mu- 
hammad is  dead?'  My  judgment  concerning  this  man  is  that 
it  is  better  to  lot  him  go." 

The  Pan'dit  led  the  way  to  his  mansion,  Kana'ya  following 
silently  at  a  respectful  distance  behind.  His  attention,  imme- 
diately on  their  arrival,  was  urgently  demanded  by  the  great 
feast,  in  the  preparing  of  which  his  whole  domestic  establish- 


THE    HUKAM.  35  I 

ment  was  busily  engaged ;  but  before  leaving  Kana'ya,  he 
ordered  a  mat  spread  in  .front  of  his  residence,  and  saw  him 
comfortably  seated,  after  which  he  called  the  sheriff,  and 
ordered  him  to  furnish  Kana'ya  with  a  soldier,  and  to  provide 
the  latter  with  a  sealed  order  authorizing  him  to  see  Kana'ya 
and  his  children  beyond  the  line,  safe  on  British  territory. 

To  this  the  sheriff  stoutly  objected  :  "Why  so,  your  Honor? 
No  such  order  as  this  has  come  from  the  Mahdrajdy 

"S\\QY\^ Sa'hib,"  said  the  Pan'dit  with  decision,  "you  are  to 
maintain  absolute  silence  in  regard  to  this  matter,  and  without 
delay  give  the  man  a  soldier,  with  a  sealed  letter,  as  I  have 
directed,  and  let  him  go." 

But  the  sheriff  was  not  to  be  so  easily  suppressed,  "  Let  me 
have  a  few  words,"  said  he,  "  with  this  Kir'd'ni.  Have  I  not 
often  debated  with  Pd'dri  Swift  in  Gujranwa'la,  and  with  many 
other  Pddr'is?  and  have  I  not  always  shut  their  mouths  so 
completely  that  they  were  unable  to  answer  me  a  single  word? 
and  can  I  not  easily  convince  this  fellow?" 

"  Sheriff  Sd'hib','  said  the  Pan'dit,  "  heed  my  words  ;  before 
any  Jm'kam  came  to  us  from  the  English  about  this  man,  he 
had  been  here  twice;  and  now,  since  the  arrival  of  their  Jm'- 
kam, he  has  come  the  third  time,  and  I  have  been  discussing 
matters  with  him  these  three  weeks,  never  missing  a  single 
opportunity;  but  he  always  closes  my  mouth.  Please,  then, 
abstain  from  asking  him  any  questions,  lest  our  gods  fall  into 
dishonor  before  all  these  Brahmins." 

But  the  sheriff  persisted  until  he  finally  obtained  the  reluct- 
ant consent  of  the  Pan' dit,  who  was  very  anxious  to  go  and 
attend  to  his  pressing  domestic  cares,  to  ask  just  one  or  two 
questions,  whereupon  he  sat  down  before  Kana'ya  to  "  con- 
vince him,"  a  multitude  of  Brahmans  and  others  gathering 
about  the  two  disputants  to  hear  the  discussion. 

The  sheriff  thus  began: — "What  have  you  gained  by  for- 
saking your  own  Hindu  religion,  which  is  a  very  good  one, 
and  becoming  a  Kird'n'i?" 

"  Will  you  be  kind  enough.  Sheriff  Sd'hib,  to  listen  to  me 
without  becoming  angry?  "  Kana'ya  modestly  inquired. 


352  •         OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

"  Of  course,"  replied  the  richly  decorated  officer,  who  car- 
ried about  his  person  full  enough  of  deadly  weapons  to  justify 
Kana'ya's  precautionary  inquiry,  "  surely ;  why  should  I  be- 
come angry?  " 

"  Then,"  said  Kana'ya,  "  I  will  tell  you  why  I  left  my  Hindu 
religion: — Every  distinct  tribe  of  Hindus  has  its  own  religious 
belief  and  practice.  Not  to  speak  at  length,  but  keeping  to 
what  I  have  observed,  the  San' sis  [a  low  tribe  of  thieves]  wor- 
ship their  idols  reverently,  and  then  go  immediately  out  to 
steal;  and  in  God's  estimation  the  Hindus  of  high  caste  are 
like  them.  Here  are  ten  commandments  which  I  can  show 
you  if  you  so  desire:  Moses  went  up  to  the  top  of  Mount 
Sinai,  into  the  thick  cloud,  where  God  talked  with  him  face  to 
face.  This  is  known  to  all  men,  whether  Hindus,  Muhamma- 
dans,  or  Sikhs  ;  you  may  ask  that  Muhammadan  Sepoy,  who 
stands  beside  you,  whether  this  be  not  so." 

"  Well,"  said  the  sheriff,  turning  to  the  Sepoy,  "  what  say 
you?" 

"Yes,"  said  the  Sepoy,  "this  is  true;  God  did  talk  with 
Moses." 

"  These  ten  commandments,  then,"  Kana'ya  continued,  "are 
what  God  gave  to  Moses.  I  have  them  here  by  me  in  this 
book,  and  if  you  give  me  permission  I  will  read  them." 

"  You  must  not  open  your  book,"  said  the  sheriff;  "  but  you 
may  speak  them  briefly  by  word  of  mouth." 

"  Very  well,"  said  Kana'ya ;  "  Lie  not.  Steal  not.  Covet 
not  what  belongs  to  your  neighbor.  Keep  the  Sabbath  holy 
and  do  no  work  in  it." 

Here  the  sheriff  interrupted  him  with  a  most  hearty  ap- 
proval:  "These  words,"  said  he,  "are  true;  they  are  all  true 
—perfectly  so." 

Then  Kana'ya  continued:  "In  like  manner  it  is  also  written 
in  this  book  concerning  all  liars,  and  fornicators,  and  those 
who  are  rebellious  against  their  parents,  and  those  who  for- 
sake God  and  worship  any  kind  .of  idol — concerning  all  such 
persons  it  is  written  that  God,  who  is  everywhere  present  and 


THE    HUKAM.  -  353 

all-seeing,  will  by  no  means  count  them  guiltless,  but  will  cut 
them  off  from  the  land  of  the  living,  and  cast  them  into  hell 
forever;  and  the  great  question  is,  how  shall  we  escape?  On 
this  point  I  have  thoroughly  searched  throughout  the  religion 
of  both  Hindus  and  Muhammadans,  without  being  able  to  find 
any  comfort  or  satisfaction.  But  this  book,  which  you  see  in 
my  hand,  contains  the  Word  of  God,  and  by  following  these 
words  I  have  found  the  true  way  of  salvation.  When  God 
saw  that  no  man  was  able  to  save  himself  from  sin,  then  he 
showed  mercy.  His  own  Son,  who  is  the  sinless  incarnation,, 
him  God  sent.  He  came.  For  sinners  he  became  a  sacri- 
fice, as  yourself  also  very  well  know.  Are  you  not  a  Sikh? 
Is  it  not  written  in  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  your  book,,  the 
Granth : — 

'  Srl  asakta  jagat  ke  ha,  '  O  eternal  Master,  and  Lord  of  the  world, 

Pan  rdchhas  kd  kdto  slsd ;  Thou  didst  cut  off  the  head  of  Satan; 

Pushpati  barsh  gagan  se  bhdl         Then  flowers  rained  from  heaven  ; 
Di'itan  dn  badhai  del;  Angels  came  and  sang  praises. 

Dhan  dhan  logan  ke  Rdjd;  O  King  of  nations,  praise  be  to  Thee,  praise 

Dushtan  ddh  gai'ib  nawdzd.^  to  Thee  ; 

Thou  hatest  the  wicked,  but  hast  compassion 
upon  the  poor.' 

Now,  that  same  Lord  of  the  world  is  Jesus,  and  is  with- 
out sin ;  on  Him  we  believe,  and  there  is  no  other  Saviour, 
neither  Gu'ru  nor  fakir' ,  nor  god  nor  goddess,  being  able  to 
save  us.  These  all  came  to  destroy  sinners;  but  Jesus  came 
to  save  sinners.  Yet  he  will  save  us  only  when  we  forsake  all 
others,  who  are  dead,  and  believe  on  him  alone  who  is  the 
living  Saviour." 

"  But  what  has  Jesus  done  for  you  ?"  asked  the  sheriff. 

"  He  has  done  this,"  replied  Kana'ya :  "  He  has  given  his 
life  for  us,  as  the  prophet  Isaiah  foretold  he  would  do.  He  died 
the  death,  and  rose  again  the  third  day,  so  fulfilling  the  justice 
of  God,  whose  command  is  that  every  sinner,  no  matter  who 
he  is,  or  how  great  a  sinner  he  is,  must  turn  from  his  sins  and 
believe  on  him.  Whoever  does  this,  has  everlasting  life;  but 
whoever  does  not  turn  and  believe  is  condemned  to  eternal 
23 


354  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

punishment.  We  ought  all  to  obey  him;  you  also  should 
obey  him,  Sheriff  5a V«"i^,  that  you  may  escape  eternal  punish- 
ment." 

The  sheriff  controlled  his  temper  until  he  heard  this  last 
sentence ;  then,  rising  up  in  a  rage,  he  poured  forth  upon  Kan- 
a'ya  a  volley  of  abuse :  "  Thou  impious  one !  Thou  pig ! 
Thou  forsaker  of  thy  father's  religion!  ^\\o\x  Kirafn'i !  Are 
zve  all  to  go  to  hell  ?  "  i 

The  sheriff  gave  utterance  to  these  words  in  such  a  loud 
and  angry  tone  as  to  attract  multitudes  of  people  from  all 
sides,  and  turning  to  a  soldier  who  stood  in  attendance  upon 
him,  he  added:  "Beat  this  fellow,  and  thrust  him  forth." 

Kana'ya,  knowing  that  there  was  higher  authority  near  at 
hand  to  prevent  his  angry  and  blustering  opponent  from  doing 
any  particular  harm,  was  not  in  the  least  afraid.  Putting  up 
his  hands  imploringly,  he  begged  permission  to  speak  just 
one  word  more^  and  begged  so  humbly  and  persistently 'that 
permission  was  granted.  Then,  raising  his  voice  to  its  utmost 
pitch  in  order  to  be  heard  as  far  as  possible,  he  said  to  the 
sheriff:  "  Only  a  little  while  ago  you  gave  your  word  that  I 
might  speak,  and  promised  "not  to  become  angry.  And  now, 
behold  how  quickly  you  have  forgotten  your  promise,  and 
have  even  ordered  a  Sepoy  to  beat  me  and  turn  me  out!  This 
,is  the  effect  of  believing  in  your  false  gods.  Sudi  is  your  re- 
ligion. It  were  better  that  you  forsake  such  a  religion  as  that, 
.and  believe  on  the  true,  the  living,  the  sinless  Saviour,  Jesus 
^Christ." 

The  Pan'dit,  who  had  gone  to  attend  to  matters  connected 
with  the  entertainment,  and  whose  attention  was  now  attracted 
.by  the  clamor,  came  out  of  his  house  in  haste.  Mortified  at 
the  disgrace  brought  upon  his  religion  and  his  gods  before  so 
JTiany  Brahmins,  and  angry  at  the  sheriff,  through  whose  proud 
•  conceit  this  had  happened,  he  took  the  sheriff  by  the  arm,  and 
jerking  him  forcibly  away,  said :  "Did  I  not  tell  you!  You 
boast  of  shutting  t\\Q  Pd'drts'  mouths!  Are  you  now  satis- 
fied?"    And  pointing  to  Kana'ya,  he  continued:  "That  man 


THE    HUKAM.  355 

is  not  learned,  and  has  very  little  knowledge,  but  neither  Pan'- 
dits  nor  Sai'yads  are  able  to  close  his  mouth.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  always  gives  a  reasonable  answer  by  which  our  own 
mouths  are  closed.  Now  write  that  letter  at  once,  and  laying 
aside  your  anger,  write  it  properly,  for  I  will  read  it  myself 
before  giving  it  into  his  hands." 

The  letter  was  written,  revised,  corrected,  and  placed  in  the 
hands  of  a  soldier  detailed  for  the  occasion ;  and  Kana'ya,  after 
being  instructed  as  to  how  much  a  day  he  should  pay  to  the 
soldier,  made  his  salam'  to  the  Pan'dit,  and  started.  As  he 
was  going,  the  sheriff,  with  blood  in  his  eye,  said  to  him : 
"  You  are  a  very  fortunate  fellow ;  for  were  I  not  a  servant 
and  subject  to  authority,  I  would  kill  you  this  very  moment," 

Kana'ya  replied :  "  That  is  very  true ;  but  remember,  brother, 
it  is  written,  '  They  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with  the 
sword.'" 

The  Pan'dit  shook  his  head  at  the  sheriff,  and  bade  him  not 
say  anything  more  to  Kana'ya ;  and  anxious  to  see  them  sep- 
arated, he  turned  to  Kana'ya  and  added :  "  Your  business  is 
now  completed;  please  do  not  speak  to  him  another  word." 

Kana'ya,  whilst  bathing  his  temples  in  the  tank  after  this 
exciting  contest,  overheard  the  Pan'dit  saying  to  the  crowd : 
"  The  patience  and  endurance  of  these  Christians  is  such  as  we 
see  in  no  other  people;  I  wonder  and  am  astonished  at  it. 
And  as  for  gainsaying  or  refuting  their  words,  no  one  is  able 
to  do  it." 

On  leaving  the  capital,  Kana'ya  felt  exceedingly  anxious  for 
one  more  meeting  with  his  good  old  friend,  iho.  fakir' ,  to  ac- 
quaint him  with  the  important  turn  which  had  taken  place,  and 
especially  to  make  known  the  fact  of  his  departure  for  Jan'di ; 
but  this  he  found  impossible,  his  soldier  guard  utterly  refusing, 
in  spite  of  many  earnest  entreaties,  to  permit  him  to  go  by  the 
way  of  his  old  retreat  on  the  banks  of  the  Ta'wi. 

Not  until  he  was  fairly  out  of  Ja'mu  on  his  way  to  Jan'di, 
reflecting  upon  all  that  had  happened  during  the  three  past 
eventful  days,  did  he  perceive  that  his  prayers  and  the  prayers 


356  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

of  the  Church  had  been  answered — that  a  deliverance,  as  real 
and  wonderful  as  that  of  Peter  from  Herod's  prison,  had  been 
wrought  on  his  behalf — God  sending  the  hu'kam  of  which  he 
himself  had  despondently  spoken  in  the  very  moment  of  his 
deepest  distress. 

And  now,  his  heart  was  filled  with  anxious  thoughts  about 
those  dear  children,  who  were  many  miles  away  in  Jan'di,  and 
whose  mother  was  detained  in  Ja'mu  under  guard,  as  he  had 
learned  from  the  Pan'dit  only  that  morning.  Was  the  kind 
hand  and  sympathizing  heart  of  any  one  else  now  filling  the 
mother's  place  ?  Would  he  find  the  little,  ones  hungry  or 
sick  ?  or  would  he  even  see  them  alive  ? 

Kana'ya  was  a  man  of  remarkably  hardy  constitution  ;  but 
having  been  without  his  usual  food  for  the  past  three  weeks — 
having  scarcely  tasted  food  of  any  kind  for  several  days — hav- 
ing undergone  long  continued  strain  from  intense  mental  ex- 
citement, and  suffered  the  loss  of  sleep — all  in  the  debilitating 
and  sickly  month  of  August — his  powers  of  endurance  began 
to  yield,  now  that  the  stimulus  of  the  stirring  scenes  of  the 
past  weeks  was  partially  removed. 

"  What  is  the  matter  with  you  ?"  said  the  rude  soldier,  after 
they  had  gone  a  few  miles;  "you  don't  seem  able  to  walk." 

"  My  head  aches,"  Kana'ya  replied,  "  and  my  feet  ache  and 
are  much  swollen,  and  I  feel  very  weak;  I  would  like  to  halt 
until  evening." 

From  this  point  there  were  two  roads — an  upper,  leading  to 
the  left,  and  a  lower  one,  leading  straight  forward — either  of 
which,  in  that  broken,  mountainous  region,  was  hard  to  find 
and  difficult  to  travel. 

"  I  will  take  the  left-hand  road,"  said  the  soldier,  "and  make 
a  visit  to  some  of  my  friends ;  but  you  keep  straight  on,  and 
we  will  meet  to-morrow  in  Jan'di."  So  saying,  the  soldier  took 
four  days'  wages  from  Kana'ya,  retaining  also  in  his  possession 
the  sealed  order,  and  left  the  afflicted  man  to  plod  along  as 
best  he  could  over  wretched  roads,  through  deep  gorges,  and 
across  many  unbridged,  foaming  mountain-torrents. 


CHAPTER   XXV. 

FOUND   AT    LAST JOY    AT    SCOTT  GARH. 

DURING  the  many  dark  days  of  the  third  visit  made  by 
Kana'ya  and  Kaude  Shah  to  the  MaJidrajas  court,  deep 
sohcitude  pervaded  the  Httle  Christian  bands  at  Scott  garh 
and  Sial'kot,  whence  many  an  earnest  prayer  ascended  to 
God  for  Kana'ya's  personal  safety,  and  the  success  of  his  dan- 
gerous venture.  The  anxious  Christians  heard  alarming  ru- 
mors, but  were  unable  to  learn  anything  which  appeared  to 
be  definite  and  reliable;  and  when  two  whole  weeks  of  painful 
suspense  had  passed,  they  were  beginning  to  indulge  in  grave 
apprehensions.  Bhaj'na,  tortured  with  anxiety,  journeyed 
from  Scott  garh  to  Sial'kot  to  consult  with  the  brethren  there, 
and  declared  that  he  must  go  forthwith  to  Ja'mu  and  see  what 
had  become  of  his  friend  Kana'ya ;  and  since  he  could  speak 
the  Dog'ra  dialect  used  in  Ja'mu  better  than  any  of  the  other 
Christians,  it  was  agreed  that  he  was  the  most  suitable  person 
to  go. 

The  day  on  which  he  started  for  Ja'mu  was  the  very  one  on 
which  Kana'ya  left  Ja'mu  for  Jan'd'i,  and  it  was  not  until  the 
following  day  that  Kau'de  Shah,  missing  Bhaj'na  on  the  way, 
arrived  at  Sial'kot,  unable  to  report  anything  hopeful  from 
Ja'mu. 

Bhaj'na,  on  arriving  at  the  "  Big  City,"  went  first  to  the  ele- 
phant stables,  where  he  failed  to  find  any  trace  whatever  ot 
Kana'ya.  He  then  went  all  through  the  bazars  and  lanes, 
searching  diligently  for  two  whole  days,  meeting  only  with 
disappointment.  Being  naturally  timid,  he  did  not  inquire 
openly;  and  even  if  he  had  done  so,  the  Pan'dit,  the  only  one 
able  to  give  him  satisfactory  information,  was  the  very  last 

(357) 


358  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

man  from  whom  he  would  wish  to  make  inquiry.  At  last  he 
went  to  the  bow-maker,  who  was  known  to  have  befriended 
Kana'ya  on  several  occasions,  and  was  directed  by  him  to  in- 
quire at  the  hut  of  the  old  fak'ir'.  But  here  again,  all  that 
Bhaj'na  could  learn,  was  the  dismal  story  of  the  Pan'difs  cruel 
treatment  of  Kana'ya  after  Kau'de  Shah's  departure  —  his 
threatenings  and  his  oath,  and  of  the  gloomy  forebodings 
under  which  Kana'ya  had  left  the  hut  on  the  eventful  Monday 
morning.  Beyond  this  he  could  discover  no  trace  of  the 
missing  man. 

Bhaj'na,  taking  Xki^  fak'ir  s  promise  surely  to  come  to  Scott 
garh  and  cast  in  his  lot  there  with  the  Christians,  returned  to 
Sial'kot  almost  heart-broken  ;  and  the  Christian  communities 
at  Sial'kot  and  Scott  garh,  knowing  that  it  was  no  strange 
thing  for  converts  to  disappear  mysteriously  and  forever,  were 
overwhelmed  with  grief. 

Before  bidding  a  final  farewell  to  Ja'mu,  I  must  return  once 
more  to  the  hut  and  its  overshadowing  tree,  and  relate  an 
incident  which,  more  than  any  other,  renders  that  humble  re- 
treat memorable.  The  incident  occurred  on  the  last  Sabbath 
of  Kana'ya's  sojourn,  between  those  two  nights  of.  prayer,  just 
when  something  remarkable  might  be  expected.  Whilst  the 
fak'ir'  was  absent  that  day,  Kana'ya,  sitting  alone,  protected 
by  the  venerable  tree  from  the  sun's  broiling  heat,  and  seek- 
ing comfort  from  the  word  of  God,  observed  two  fine  princely- 
looking  lads  approaching  him  by  a  circuitous  footpath.  Hav- 
ing observed  that  he  was  reading,  they  drew  near  and  made 
inquiries  about  his  books.  Kana'ya  explained  to  them  the 
nature  of  the  books,  one  of  which  was  a  little  volume  from  the 
Ludhia'na  Mission  press,  containing  the  four  Gospels  and  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles  in  the  Gurmuk'h'i  language.  The  boys 
being  versed  in  Gurmuk'hi,  one  of  them  very  politely  re- 
quested Kana'ya  to  give  him  the  book,  a  request  with  which 
Kana'ya  most  cheerfully  complied.  From  another  person 
who  was  passing  immediately  afterwards,  Kana'ya,  on  making 
inquiry,  learned  that  the  youth  who  received  the  book  was  a 


FOUND    AT    LAST.  359 

son  of  Joa'la  Saha'  VVa.z'ir'  (Minister  of  State),  to  the  Mahdrdja 
of  Ja'mu,  and  a  native  of  Em'inabad',  in  the  Gujranwa'la  Dis- 
trict. 

A  few  months  later,  a  native  Muhammadan  gentleman,  in 
the  service  of  the  English  Government  at  Zafarwal',  related  to 
one  of  the  Scott  garh  Christians  the  following  particulars  : 
That  same  son  of  the  IVas'ir',  together  with  one  of  the  Malid- 
rdjas  own  sons,  after  reading  the  book  which  they  had  re- 
ceived from  Kana'ya,  renounced  idolatry  and  all  allegiance  to 
their  Hindu  Pan'dits.  They  w^ent  about  trying  to  persuade 
others  to  follow  their  example,  denouncing  idols  as  false,  and 
teaching  people  that  they  ought  not  to  believe  in  them.  The 
Mahdrdjd  was  informed  that  these  two  princes  had  been  read- 
ing Christian  books,  and  having  become  themselves  perverted, 
were  turning  away  others  also  from  the  faith  of  their  fathers. 
When  called  to  account  in  the  king's  presence,  the  young 
princes  openly  and  frankly  acknowledged  what  they  had  done, 
avowing  their  firm  belief  that  their  old  religion  was  a  lie,  and 
that  men  ought  to  believe  only  in  Jesus,  who  is  the  "  Sinless 
Incarnation."  The  two  lads  suffered  three  months'  imprison- 
ment, and  were  afterwards  taken  away  to  some  distant  Hindu 
shrine  on  a  pilgrimage.  Beyond  this  point  we  have  no  further 
particulars  concerning  their  history. 

To  return  to  Kana'ya.  After  he  had  been  left  alone  by  his 
soldier  escort,  five  miles  east  of  Ja'mu  on  the  road  to  Jan'di, 
he  soon  reached  a  village,  and  felt  it  necessary  to  stop  for  a 
few  hours'  rest.  On  entering  the  village  he  asked  for  a  drink 
of  water,  and  was  directed  to  the  house  of  a  Brahmin.  The 
high-caste  Hindu,  to  Kana'ya's  great  surprise,  cordially  in- 
vited him  in,  and  after  seating  him,  said:  "  Having  prepared  a. 
feast,  I  have  been  disappointed  in  that  no  stranger  came  tG> 
partake  of  it;  so  now,  if  you  will  please  to  eat,  my  joy  will  be 
full."  When  Kana'ya  was  a  little  refreshed,  he  read  from  his- 
book  at  the  Brahmin's  own  request,  and  was  invited  to  prolong 
his  stay;  but  his  heart  yearned  after  his  poor  desolate  chil- 
dren, and  he  could  not  delay. 


360  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Regardless  of  his  painfully  swollen  feet,  exhausted  strength, 
loss  of  appetite,  and  symptoms  of  approaching  illness,  he 
pushed  forward  over  miserable  stony  roads,  up  hill  and  down 
dale,  that  if  possible  he  might  once  more  embrace  his  captive 
babes.  In  his  pitiful  plight  it  was  impossible  for  him  to  step 
off  this  forty-mile  journey  with  his  usual  agility;  and  about 
midway  between  Ja'mu  and  Jan'd'i  he  entered  a  village  to  seek 
lodgings  for  the  night.  Naturally  enough  he  inquired  for  the 
house  of  a  Jtddh'  (weaver),  and  was  directed  to  the  home  of 
two  well-to-do  brothers  of  that  craft,  who  with  their  wives  and 
children  lived  together  as  one  family.  Here  he  begged  ad- 
mittance for  the  night,  and  was  hospitably  received.  The  in- 
mates of  the  house,  whom  he  saw  present,  were  the  wives  of 
the  two  brothers,  a  lad  of  about  fifteen  years,  and  three 
younger  children. 

"Who  are  you?"  was  of  course  the  first  question  asked  of 
Kana'ya  by  her  who  seemed  to  be  the  chief  mistress  of  the 
house — a  question  which  as  already  explained  is  equivalent  to. 
What  is  your  religion,  occupation  or  caste  ? 

Kana'ya  answered  by  saying  he  was  an  Isdt  Juldh' . 

The  woman  not  knowing  of  any  other  name  for  Christians 
but  the  opprobrious  epithet  Kird'ni,  took  for  granted  that  the 
term  Isd'i  merely  designated  some  subdivision  of  Jnldhs' ,  of 
which  she  had  never  before  heard;  whilst  Kana'ya,  dreading 
the  thought  of  being  perhaps  turned  out  of  doors  in  his  pres- 
ent helpless  condition,  was  glad  to  avoid  the  necessity  of  any 
further  explanation.  He  had  not  been  long  in  the  house  un- 
til he  found  himself  suffering  from  an  attack  of  fever.  The 
family  sympathized,  and  did  everything  that  lay  in  their  power 
for  his  relief  and  comfort.  When  the  hot  stage  of  the  fever 
-was  over,  he  sat  up,  and  conversation  began. 

"  May  I  ask,  please,"  inquired  Kana'ya  of  the  woman,  "  what 
has  become  of  the  master  of  the  house  ?  " 

"  Both  brothers,"  said  she,  "  are  gone  up  to  the  '  Big  City.' " 

"  Pray,  what  may  be  their  business  at  Ja'mu  ? "  Kana'ya 
further  inquired. 


FOUND    AT    LAST.  36 1 

"  Have  you  not  heard,"  said  the  woman,  "  of  that  great  case 
in  the  court  there  which  has  been  agitating  the  whole  capital 
in  these  days  ?  " 

"  Pray,  what  case  may  that  be  ?     Please  explain." 

"  Very  well,  then,"  said  the  woman,  "  I  will  tell  you  all  about 
it,  from  the  very  first : — There  were  two  Juldlis'  in  the  village 
of  Jhandran'  who  became  Kira'n'is.  The  name  of  one  of  them 
is  Kana'ya.  His  wife  and  all  his  children  were  taken  away 
from  him  and  carried  to  Jan'di,  a  village  in  the  Maharajas 
country,  where  Salar  Deva  Singh  has  a  fort.  Then  Kana'ya 
sued  for  his  children  in  the  English  court  at  Sial'kot ;  and  the 
English  Government  ordered  the  Maharaja  to  give  them  up 
to  him.  Some  were  in  favor  of  going  to  war  with  the  English ; 
and  we  know  not  yet  what  will  happen.  Some  time  ago  the 
Maharaja  sent  a  soldier  to  Jan'di  to  fetch  Kana'ya's  wife  to 
Ja'mu.  On  her  way  she  stayed  all  night  in  our  house.  Her 
old  father-in-law  was  along ;  and  as  we  saw  them  in  great 
trouble,  my  husband  went  with  them  to  Ja'mu  to  help  them. 
Then  when  we  heard  no  word  from  them  for  many  days,  my 
husband's  brother  also  went  up  to  see  what  was  the  matter. 
Kana'ya's  wife  had  a  young  babe  with  her,  and  she  felt  very 
sad.     Poor,  helpless  woman,  she  cried  nearly  all  the  t*ime." 

The  inward  throbbing  and  swelling  of  Kana'ya's  heart  now 
became  difficult  to  suppress,  as  he  endeavored  to  inquire  fur- 
ther :  "  Do  you  know — can  you  tell  anything  about  the  rest 
of  the  children?  You  say  she  had  one  with  her,  and  that 
there  were  others  ?  " 

'•  Yes,"  said  the  woman,  "  they  are  at  Jan'di ;  there  are  four 
of  them.  Their  mother  said  they  had  fever.  The  youngest 
one,  a  little  girl,  seemed  almost  at  the  point  of  death  when  she 
came  away ;  but  she  was  forced  to  leave  it,  though  she  did 
not  think  the  little  one  would  live." 

When  the  anxious  father  heard  these  distressing  tidings  of 
his  lone  motherless  children,  especially  of  little  Mak'han,  the 
precious  darling  of  his  soul,  he  was  unable  to  restrain  himself 
any  longer,  and  found  relief  to  his  aching  heart  in  sobs  and 


362  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

tears.  For  a  few  minutes  the  members  of  that  household  all 
sat  wrapped  in  silent  wonder,  no  one  presuming  rudely  and 
inquisitively  to  pry  into  the  cause  of  the  stranger's  anguish. 
After  a  little  while,  obtaining  control  of  his  feelings,  he  him- 
self solved  the  mysteiy  for  them  by  saying:  "  I  am  that  Kan- 
a'ya." 

The  astonishment  which  seized  the  family  group  at  this  sud- 
den and  totally  unexpected  announcement,  was  complete  and 
overwhelming.  The  news  immediately  spread  through  the 
village — "  Kana'ya,  the  Kiya'n'i,  has  come  ! "  The  whole  vil- 
lage, impelled  by  irrepressible  curiosity,  crowded  to  see  the 
man  who  had  forsaken  the  religion  of  his  fathers.  Providen- 
tially, every  one  felt  a  kindly  sympathy  for  him  in  his  deep 
distress,  and  after  the  excitement  had  somewhat  subsided,  they 
became  very  curious  to  know  why  he  had  become  a  Kird'iii  at 
such- a  dreadful  sacrifice.  This  gave  him  an  opportunity  to 
tell  them  the  "old,  old  story,"  which  occupied  his  time  until 
midnight,  after  which  he  took  a  short  and  much-needed  rest, 
and  early  the  next  morning  was  on  his  way,  kindly  accom- 
panied for  several  miles  by  the  young  lad  of  the  household. 

On  his  arrival  at  the  village  of  Jan'd'i  he  was  greatly  per- 
plexed, being  entirely  ignorant  of  the  place  and  the  people, 
and  unable  to  find  out  where  his  children  were,  although  they 
were  in  the  very  lane  in  which  he  stood  inquiring  after  them. 
Some  one  at  length  pointed  to  the  fort,  which  was  two  miles 
distant,  and  informed  him  that  it  also  was  called  Jan'd'i.  Off 
he  started  immediately  for  the  fort,  and  was  there  directed  by 
the  officers  on  duty  where  his  children  could  be  found. 

But  here  once  more,  as  soon  as  the  astonishing  discovery 
was  made  that  he  was  Kana'ya,  the  Kird'n'i,  the  officers  in 
charge  of  the  fort  eagerly  questioned  him  as  to  why  he  had 
become  a  Christian ;  and,  ardently  as  his  aching  heart  longed 
to  be  with  his  children,  he  felt  called  upon  to  stop  and  obey 
the  Divine  command — "  Be  ready  always  to  give  an  answer  to 
every  man  that  asketh  you  a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  you 
with  meekness  and  fear." 


FOUND    AT    LAST.  363 

After  hearing  him,  the  officers  said:  "Your  beHef  is  right; 
your  doctrine  is  perfectly  true;  but  as  for  us  to  sacrifice  every- 
thing for  it  in  this  way  it  is  impossible." 

When  Kana'ya  had  returned  from  the  fort  to  the  village  of 
Jan'di,  and  was  approaching  the  house  in  which  his  children 
were  kept  by  Bhim  Sain,  a  son  of  the  cruel  tyrant,  DeVa 
Singh,  poor  little  Lah'nu  saw  his  father  coming,  and  ran  to 
meet  him,  crying  for  very  joy.  Kana'ya  too  wept  tears  of  joy, 
but  these  were  mingled  with  those  of  sorrow,  for  when  he  took 
up  his  dear  boy  to  embrace  him,  he  found  him  emaciated  and 
shrunken  away  to  a  mere  skeleton.  Basso,  the  oldest  of  the 
five  children,  was  lying  inside  of  Bhim  Sain's  house,  so  ill 
with  fever  that  she  was  unable  to  rise  from  her  bed.  And 
poor  little  Mak'han,  her  father's  idol,  was  so  very  ill  that  she 
was  unable  to  speak  or  even  to  notice  any  one. 

Although  these  little  sufferers  were  lying  in  such  a  helpless 
condition,  and  their  distracted  father  was  standing  near  the 
door,  yet  that  inhuman  son  of  De'va  Singh  forbade  him  enter- 
ing the  house  where  they  were  lying.  The  soldier,  who  had 
left  Kana'ya  on  the  way  from  Ja'mu,  and  who  still  had  pos- 
session of  the  Paii'dit's  official  letter,  without  which  Kan- 
a'ya's  entering  Bhim  Sain's  house  would  have  subjected  him 
to  the  charge  of  trespass,  did  not  make  his  appearance  at 
Jan'd'i  until  the  third  day.  The  tyrant's  son  meanwhile  used 
all  diligence  to  put  difficulties  in  Kana'ya's  way,  preventing 
him  from  obtaining  such  things  as  were  necessary  in  order  to 
remove  his  children.  But  the  pity  and  compassion  of  a 
father's  heart  for  his  suffering  and  helpless  children,  enable 
him  to  brave  many  difficulties,  and  quicken  his  ingenuity. 
Placing  a  bamboo  across  his  shoulder,  and  suspending  a  little 
bed  from  each  end  of  it  for  the  sufferers,  he  carried  them  ten- 
derly, traveling  by  night  to  avoid  the  deadly  rays  of  an  Au- 
gust sun,  and  arriving  at  Scott  garh  on  Sabbath  morning,  just 
at  the  close  of  public  worship.  And  oh!  the  jubilant  outburst 
from  the  anxious  praying  Christian  band — "  Tlicy  have  come  ! 
They  have  come  !     The  cJiildren  ajid  Kandya  have  come  l''  was 


364  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

the  joyful  shout  which  rang  through  the  httle  community. 
Then  the  embracing,  and  weeping,  and  laughing,  and  leaping 
for  joy! — something  like  we  suppose  it  is  in  heaven  when  a 
sinner  repents. 

"  Redeem  me  from  the  captive  chains, 
That  I  may  sing  in  grateful  strains : 
Then  shall  the  righteous  round  me  press, 
For  God  shall  me  with  favor  bless." 


CHAPTER    XXVI, 


THE    OUTCOME. 


THE  narrative  of  the  first  great  religious  movement  in  our 
India  mission  field,  which  began  in  Jhandran'  in  Febru- 
ary, 1859,  has  now  been  traced  to  a  point  where  I  must  leave 
it.  To  leave  it,  however,  without  a  word  about  the  permanent 
results,  would  be  unsatisfactory  to  the  reader.  Many  persons 
have  been  introduced  and  then  dropped  out  of  view  as  the 
narrative  proceeded.  Where  are  these  persons  now? — what 
are  they  doing? — what  kind  of  characters  do  they  bear? — and 
what  is  the  result  of  this  religious  movement  among  the  Megs'? 
Such  questions  as  these,  the  reader  will  naturally  and  properly 
wish  to  ask;  and  to  aid  his  memory  by  means  of  local  associ- 
ation, I  will  begin  answering  them  with  Jhandran'. 

Joa'hir  Mas'ih',  who  first  made  the  gospel  known  at  Jhan- 
dran',  remained  in  connection  with  our  mission  only  two  or 
three  years,  after  which  he  continued  the  good  work  he  loved 
so  much  in  other  districts  of  the  Punjab' ,  though  we  do  not 
know  of  any  such  remarkable  results  elsewhere  as  those  which 
attended  his  visit  to  Jhandran'.  We  have  heard  that  he  lies 
in  his  grave  somewhere  in  the  beautiful  and  far-famed  Vale 
of  Kashmir'. 

Faki'ra,  who  was  one  of  the  foremost  in  the  movement  at 
its  commencement,  soon  began  to  draw  back  when  persecution 
arose.  From  the  very  time  that  he  first  heard  the  gospel,  he 
was  convinced  of  its  truth  and  convicted  as  a  sinner,  which 
gave  rise  to  a  terrible  and  protracted  inward  struggle,  at  times 
almost  bringing  him  to  the  turning  point.  On  one  occasion, 
when  Mr.  Martin  was  halting  at  Dham'tal  on  the  way  to  Gur- 
das'pur,  Fakira  went  to  that  village  to  meet  him  with  the  de- 
sign of  receiving  baptism,  the  arrangement  for  this  meeting 
being  made  at  Fakira's  own  request;  but  when  the   set   time 

(365) 


366  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

came,  poor,  unstable  Fak'ira's  courage  failed  him.  His  dread 
of  the  angry  curses  to  be  expected  from  every  one,  especially 
from  his  own  brother,  Nat'tu,  so  overwhelmed  him  that  when 
the  time  arrived  he  refused  to  receive  the  Christian  ordinance. 
On  his  way  back  from  Dham'tal  to  Jhandran',  when  Bhaj'na 
spoke  to  him  of  the  danger  of  continuing  to  live  without 
Christ,  he  exceedingly  regretted  his  backsliding  course,  and 
sitting  down  by  the  wayside  wept  over  it,  saying,  "  When  Mr. 
Martin  returns  from  Gurdas'pur,  I  will  surely  go  and  confess 
Jesus  Christ  by  receiving  baptism  in  his  name."  Before  Mr. 
Martin's  return  he  became  dangerously  ill  with  fever,  and 
greatly  troubled  in  mind  at  the  thought  that  he  might  proba- 
bly be  approaching  his  end.  He  then  sent  for  Kana'ya 
to  pray  with  him  and  comfort  him  in  his  great  distress. 
When  the  end  seemed  near,  he  called  his  brothers  and  other 
relatives  around  his  bed,  and  expressed  to  them  his  deep  re- 
gret :  "  I  have  denied  Christ,  and  am  lost,"  he  said ;  "  beware 
lest  you  also  come  to  the  same  dreadful  end.  Believe  on 
Jesus  Christ  7ioiv  !  "  Before  Kana'ya's  arrival,  and  after  giving 
utterance  to  those  despairing  words,  and  exhorting  his  people 
to  take  warning  from  his  own  dreadful  remorse,  he  died  in 
great  agony  of  mind. 

Nat'tu,  the  brother,  whose  fierce  opposition  had  been  Faki'- 
ra's  main  hindrance,  continued  for  a  time  to  hate  the  Christians, 
refusing  even  to  speak  to  them,  and  actually  removing  from 
his  home  in  Jhandran'  to  a  distant  village,  in  order  to  avoid 
them  and  save  his  family  from  their  influence.  But  soon  after 
his  brother  Faki'ra's  death,  he  began  to  feel  alarmed  about 
himself  The  keen  remembrance  of  Faki'ra's  distress  of  mind, 
of  his  death-bed  exhortation  to  them  to  believe  on  Jesus  Christ 
and  of  his  agonizing  confession  that  he  had  denied  Christ 
and  was  lost,  haunted  him  continually;  and  he  found  no  rest 
until  he  himself  finally  accepted  Christ  and  his  salvation.  His 
wife  and  five  sons  came  out  with  him,  and  all  were  baptized 
together  in  June,  1881.  He  now  lives  in  Jhandran',  and  is 
specially  noted  for  his  piety  and  his  consistent   Christian  life. 


THE    OUTCOME.  367 

La'lu,  one  of  Fak'i'ras  nephews,  was  a  Gulabdd' si  pantheist, 
and  an  active  and  public  opposer  of  Christians  and  of  the 
preaching  of  the  Gospel.  But  after  Fak'i'ra's  death  he  became 
exceedingly  troubled  in  his  mind,  the  unwelcome  conviction 
forcing  itself  upon  him  that  the  gospel  was  true,  and  his  own 
rejection  of  it  dangerous  to  himself  In  order,  if  possible,  to 
banish  the  subject  from  his  thoughts,  he  removed  to  Amritsar, 
thinking  that  he  would  find  relief  if  only  away  from  the  sight 
and  hearing  of  his  Christian  neighbors  and  acquaintances. 
But  all  his  efforts  could  not  make  him  forget  the  unhappy 
death  of  poor  Fak'i'ra,  his  uncle.  "  He  who  was  our  venerated 
gu'ru,"  said  La'lu,  "was  hmiself  dSvdi.\d  to  die,  acknowledging 
himself  lost  because  he  had  neglected  to  confess  the  name  of 
Jesus.  Then  what  will  become  of  an  open  enemy  like  me?" 
Tortured  continually  by  such  thoughts  as  these,  La'lu  went 
first  to  a  Christian  family  in  Amritsar,  and  opened  up  to  them 
his  heart's  troubles,  and  eventually  returned  to  Jhandran',  his 
native  village,  where,  on  the  29th  of  July,  1880,  he  publicly 
professed  that  faith  which  he  had  so  zealously  labored  to  de- 
stroy; and  so  another  wolf  was  brought  to  dwell  peacefully 
with  the  lambs  of  Jesus'  flock.  When  La'lu  was  baptized,  his 
wife  forsook  him  and  went  away  to  the  kingdom  of  Kashmir', 
but  subsequently  returned,  and,  together  with  their  infant  son, 
was  baptized  about  three  months  after  her  husband.  La'lu 
now  proclaims  the  gospel  to  his  neighbors  with  great  zeal. 
Thus,  a  number  of  Faki'ra's  near  relatives,  the  dread  of  whom 
had  prevented  him  from  confessing  Christ,  were  themselves 
led  to  the  Saviour  by  means  of  his  unhappy  death. 

P'i'po's  widow  is  still  an  unbeliever;  but  one  of  his  sons 
made  a  profession  of  his  faith  much  against  her  will,  and  the 
other  one  at  last  accounts  expressed  a  desire  to  do  so. 

Chan'nu  will  be  remembered  as  a  dear  friend  of  Bhaj'na, 
who  would  have  joined  him  and.Kana'ya  on  their  setting  out 
secretly  from  the  wedding  at  Dul'ham,  but  was  prevented 
from  doing  so  by  his  own  marriage  taking  place  just  at  that 
time.     His  wife  was  always  bitterly  opposed  to  his  becoming 


368  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

a  Christian,  and  he  did  not  finally  declare  himself  one  until 
July,  1879.  One  night  soon  after  he  had  taken  this  step,  a 
rumor  reached  Bhaj'na  at  Scott  garh  that  his  friend  Chan'nu 
at  Jhandran'  was  in  great  trouble,  and  had  actually  been  forced 
by  his  enemies  to  deny  his  Saviour.  Bhaj'na  sent  a  Christian 
brother  to  see  how  it  was,  who,  on  being  violently  attacked, 
fled,  and  on  his  return  reported  to  Bhaj'na  that  there  was  such 
intense  excitement  in  Jhandran'  that  it  would  be  dangerous 
for  any  Christian  to  go  there.  Bhaj'na  then,  accompanied  by 
a  friend,  went  to  Jhandran',  and  under  the  cover  of  night 
quietly  approached  the  wall  of  Chan'nu's  court  to  listen.  In- 
side of  the  court,  Muhammadans,  Hindus,  and  Megs,  to  the 
number  of  a  hundred  or  more,  were  compassing  Chan'nu  about 
like  hornets,  and  vociferating:  "Deny  Christ!  Deny  Christ! 
Say  I  am  a  Meg,  or  we  will  beat  you  and  turn  you  naked  out 
of  the  village;  and  who  will  call  us  to  account  for  it?" 

Bhaj'na  and  his  companion  listened  silently  and  anxiously 
from  behind  the  wall  of  the  court,  to  catch  if  possible  Chan'- 
nu's  answer,  and  to  their  great  delight  heard  him  say  to  his 
persecutors :  "  You  may  banish  me  from  my  village  and  my 
home;  you  may  beat  me — beat  me  to  death;  you  may  do 
what  you  please  with  me;  but  deny  Christ  I  cannot — I  will 
not;  for  in  him  is  my  trust." 

As  soon  as  Bhaj'na  heard  this  clear  and  decided  confession, 
he  made  haste,  leaped  the  wall,  rushed  to  Chan'nu's  side, 
and  grasping  the  hand  of  his  dear  companion  and  faithful 
Christian  brother,  said  to  the  crowd:  "Who  of  you  now  will 
dare  to  force  him  to  recant?" 

But  the  torrent  of  their  passions  was  too  violent  to  be 
stemmed  by  Bhaj'na's  youthful  presence.  The  leading  men 
of  Jhandran'  stirred  up  the  rabble,  shouting;  "Beat  them! 
Beat  them !  We  will  throw  in  two  or  three  oxen  and  pay  the 
fine — beat  them  ! "  But  one  respectable  old  villager  counseled 
moderation,  saying:  "Lay  no  violent  hands  upon  these  men; 
else  every  one  of  us  will  stand  guilty  before  the  government, 
and  be  cast  into  prison." 


THE   OUTCOME.  369 

Chan'nu's  youngest  brother,  becoming  frantic  with  excite- 
ment, snatched  burning  coals  in  his  bare  hands,  and  threw 
them  upon  the  top  of  his  own  head  in  demonstration  of  his 
grief  and  anger.  Then  exclaiming:  "I  will  die!  I  will  die!" 
he  threw  his  head  violently  now  upon  the  hard  ground,  now 
against  the  wall,  and  finally  dashed  it  against  a  millstone,  and 
then  fell  senseless  to  the  earth.  As  soon  as  a  little  cold  water 
had  brought  him  again  to  his  senses,  this  exhibition  of  frenzy 
was  repeated,  and  this  insane  agitation  lasted  as  long  as  he  had 
any  strength  left. 

Chan'nu  for  some  time  after  his  conversion  was  bitterly 
opposed  by  his  wife,  but  bore  her  opposition  with  true  Chris- 
tian patience ;  and  she  too,  doubtless  won  by  his  meek  bearing 
towards  her,  afterwards  repented,  and  confessed  the  name  and 
religion  of  Christ.  Thus  there  are  at  the  present  time  eleven 
Christians  and  their  children  living  in  the  village  of  Jhandran', 
where  this  religious  movement  first  began. 

Passing  four  miles  north  to  Na'ya  Pind,  the  new  village 
which  resulted  from  the  religious  excitement  at  Jhandran',  we 
notice  first  that  Ka'lu  and  his  family  are  in  the  Christian 
church.  On  the  23rd  of  January,  1 881,  he  was  baptized  by  the 
Rev.  W.  W.  Barr,  D.  D.,  when  the  reverend  doctor,  in  com- 
pany with  the  Rev.  R.  Stewart,  D.  D.,  visited  our  field  and 
work  as  a  Commission  from  our  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

Joa'la,  who  will  be  remembered  as  joining  the  mob  against 
Kana'ya,  and  saying,  "//  is  all  a  lie!"  is  now  a  gray-headed 
and  amiable  Christian.  On  the  very  interesting  occasion  just 
mentioned,  he  was  baptized  by  the  Rev.  R.  Stewart,  D.  D.,  on 
the  23rd  of  January,  1881.  On  a  subsequent  occasion  I  saw 
this  same  Joa'la  sitting  in  the  children's  class  of  a  Sabbath- 
school,  and  learning  with  the  meekness  of  a  little  child  those 
same  words  of  Jesus  which  he  had  once  stigmatized  as  lies. 
And  later  still,  when  Dr.  Stewart  needed  a  kind-hearted  and 
trustworthy  person  to  live  among  the  younger  boys  of  our 
Training  Institute,  Joa'la  was  chosen  for  that  responsible  posi- 
tion. The  old  man's  simple  explanation  of  the  mysterious  and 
24 


370  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

wonderful  change  is,  that  the  words  of  Jesus  came  into  his 
heart,  and  his  own  bad  thoughts  went  out. 

Ka'lu's  son,  Piya'ra,  the  babe  which  lay  sick  unto  death  in 
its  mother's  arms  by  the  roadside,  and  for  which  John  Clement 
and  his  companions  prayed  at  the  request  of  its  weeping 
parents,  was  baptized  at  the  same  time  with  Ka'lu  and  Joa'la, 
and  has  recently  been  admitted  to  the  study  of  theology  after 
passing  his  literary  examinations. 

Kau'de  Shah  became  a  Christian,  and  suffered  six  months' 
imprisonment  on  account  of  charges  brought  against  him  in 
court,  which  we  believe  to  have  been  entirely  false  and  mali- 
cious. When  we  last  heard  from  him,  he  was  working  as  a 
catechist  in  connection  with  a  neighboring  mission. 

Ra'ma,  Kana'ya's  father,  who  had  at  one  time  come  so  far 
as  to  procure  a  suit  of  new  clothes  in  which  to  be  baptized, 
but  had  gone  back  for  fear  of  the  shame  and  persecution  which 
he  saw  inevitable,  finally  came  out  in  1877,  the  year  preceding 
his  death. 

Doa'na  and  Sana'khi,  the  father  and  mother  of  Bhaj'na, 
both  professed  the  Christian  religion,  and  the  former  died  a 
happy  death  in  1878.  During  his  last  hours  Bhaj'na  was  with 
him,  and  read  to  him  the  precious  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 
The  old  man,  when  questioned,  said  that  he  was  glad  to  go  to 
Jesus;  and  again,  lifting  up  his  hands,  he  said:  "  I  am  going, 
and  am  glad,"  and  then  immediately  expired. 

The  bearish  Ru'ra  continued  vehemently  to  oppose  and  per- 
secute the  Christians,  and  after  Mr.  Scott's  death  persecuted 
thtera  with  greater  violence  and  determination  than  ever. 
With  all  his  might  and  cunning  he  labored  to  bring  about 
Bliaj'na's  apostasy.  When  Bhaj'na  entered  suit  in  the  civil 
court  for  Gula'bi,  his  wife,  Rii'ra  contested  it  successfully, 
after  which  he  promised  not  only  to  give  his  wife  up  to  him, 
.but  to  give  him  also  another  wife  in  addition  to  her,  if  only  he 
.W0;uld  deny  Christ  and  become  a  Mro-^  Finally,  when  he  saw 
no  .hope  of  inducing  Bhaj'na  to  retract,  he  allowed  himself  no 
;rest  .until  he  had  secured  Gula'bi's  marriaee  to  another  man 


THE   OUTCOME.  3/1 

who  already  had  a  wife  and  three  children.  Six  months  after 
this  inglorious  triumph  he  became  blind;  a  little  after  that  he 
lost  his  only  son  by  death ;  and  a  short  time  after  his  son's 
death  he  himself  died,  having  scarcely  reached  the  prime  of 
life. 

Hasan  Khan,  the  rich  Lainbard'dr  of  Zafarwal',  whom  God 
stirred  up  to  give  to  his  own  people  the  land  on  which  Scott 
garh  is  built,  is  still  living  in  Zafarwal',  as  full  of  his  old  en- 
mity to  Christians  and  the  Christian  religion  as  ever,  showing 
anger  even  to  this  day  whenever  souls  are  added  to  the 
Church. 

Scott  garh,  in  which  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na  found  a  resting- 
place  and  made  their  permanent  home,  and  where  others  have 
joined  them  from  time  to  time,  is  now  a  small  village,  consist- 
ing of  Christians  only,  and  in  it  dwell  some  of  the  very  hap- 
piest people  I  have  met  in  all  India. 

Kana'ya  is  a  farmer,  and  the  Lambarddr  of  the  village  of 
Scott  garh.  The  200  acres  of  land  leased  from  Hasan  Khan 
for  a  period  of  ten  years  have  been  redeemed  by  their  origi- 
nal owner;  but  other  heathen  land-owners  in  the  neighbor- 
hood now  willingly  offer  their  land  for  cultivation  on  shares 
to  him  in  preference  to  giving  it  out  to  people  of  their  own  re- 
ligion, having  learned  by  experience  the  superior  advantage 
of  dealing  with  a  Christian.  They  say  that  they  must  neces- 
sarily watch  the  grain  crop  until  it  is  divided  at  harvest-time 
when  they  let  their  land  to  Hindu  or  Muhammadan  cultiva- 
tors, but  that  they  can  trust  Kana'ya  to  give  them  their  just 
share,  and  are  free  from  care  when  they  leave  their  business 
entirely  in  his  hands. 

Bhaj'na  studied  theology  at  Sial'kot,  and  was  licensed  by 
the  Presbytery  to  preach  the  Gospel.  Having  lost  his  wife 
Gula'bi,  he  married  Rebecca,  a  pious  girl  from  our  girls'  or- 
phanage, who  died  only  eighteen  months  after  their  marriage. 
Sarah,  his  present  wife,  is  from  the  boarding  school  ,of  the 
Church  of  England  Mission  in  Amritsar;  and  in  the  court  of 
their  home  in  Scott  garh  one   may  now  see  five  or  six  frolic- 


372  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

some  little  fellows  who  are,  as  I  fancy,  even  brighter  and  hap- 
pier than  the  boy  who  started  out  on  a  pilgrimage  from  Jhan- 
dran'  in  1859,  and  ran  twelve  miles  by  the  side  oi  Pa'dr'i  Scott's 
gray  pony. 

Cruel  Diya'la,  who  beat  the  young  pilgrims  and  forced  them 
to  return,  died  in  unbelief;  his  son  Ma'gana,  who  shared  with 
Bhaj'na  that  cruel  beating,  is  following  in  his  father's  footsteps. 
But  Chad'do,  a  younger  son  of  Diya'la,  made  confession  of  his 
Saviour  under  peculiar  difficulties.  Being  bitterly  persecuted 
by  those  of  his  own  household,  he  suffered  besides  from  severe 
and  protracted  illness.  He  came  to  Dr.  J.  S.  Barr  on  the  eve 
of  the  doctor's  departure  for  America,  desiring  to  be  bap- 
tized; but  this  could  not  well  be  attended  to  just  at  that  par- 
ticular time,  and  he  felt  greatly  distressed  by  his  disappoint- 
ment. Dr.  Martin,  knowing  his  state  of  mind,  and  being  un- 
certain as  to  when  he  would  be  able  to  go  to  his  village,  sent 
him  word  that  if  his  faith  was  in  Christ  Jesus,  his  failure  to 
receive  the  ordinance  of  baptism  would  not  endanger  his  soul. 
But  Chad'do  said  in  reply,  that  he  had  made  a  promise  both 
to  Dr.  Barr  and  to  Dr.  Martin,  and  could  not  die  with  a  lie  in 
his  mouth.  Finally,  in  the  month  of  November,  1884,  he  en- 
joyed the  happy  privilege  of  publicly  professing  his  faith  in 
Christ.  Subsequently,  and  only  a  few  days  before  his  death, 
Dr.  Martin  visited  him  and  found  him  enjoying  great  peace  in 
believing. 

Rev.  G.  W.  Scott  died  on  the  30th  of  December,  1868.  In 
suitable  resolutions  the  Mission  recorded  their  high  apprecia- 
tion of  his  piety,  zeal,  humility,  self-denial  and  general  effi- 
ciency in  mission  work,  as  placing  him  among  the  very  fore- 
most of  missionaries  known  to  them  in  India.  The  Christians 
at  Scott  garh  loved  him  almost  to  adoration,  and  sometimes 
indulged  in  anxious  forebodings  as  to  what  would  become  of 
them  in  case  he  should  be  removed  by  death.  Against  those 
anxieties  he  solemnly  warned  them,  plainly  telling  them  that 
if  they  looked  to  him  they  would  come  to  nothing,  and  ex- 
horting them  to  look  to  Jesus,  and  to  him  alone.     He  had 


THE   OUTCOME.  373 

set  his  heart  on  securing  the  settlement  of  the  first  converts 
from  the  Megs  in  the  neighborhood  of  their  own  relatives,  in 
order  to  dispel  the  absurd  fears  of  the  latter  about  Christian 
converts  being  transported  to  Kd'ld  pd'n'i,  and  in  this  particu- 
lar his  desire  was  gratified.  He  also  saw  Kana'ya's  children 
brought  back  from  their  captivity,  as  he  had  so  confidently 
believed  they  would  be.  He  saw  their  mother  Ramde'i  follow 
them,  but  did  not  live  to  see  her  become  a  Christian. 

Ramde'i  did  not  long  remain  behind  the  four  eldest  chil- 
dren, but  soon  after  their  removal  from  their  wretched  captiv- 
ity in  Jan'di,  came  with  Ruk'ko,  her  infant  daughter,  and  dwelt 
with  her  husband  at  Scott  garh.  For  several  years,  however, 
although  living  happily  with  her  Christian  husband,  she  con- 
tinued a  Meg,  resisting  every  effort  made  for  her  conversion, 
and  replying  very  decidedly  to  those  who  addressed  her  on  the 
subject :  "As  long  as  my  heart  does  not  tell  me  to  be  a  Chris- 
tian, what's  the  use  ?  Whenever  my  heart  says  so,  then  I  will 
be  a  Christian  of  my  own  accord,  without  waiting  to  be  in- 
fluenced by  any  one." 

When  Rebecca  became  the  wife  of  Bhaj'na,  and  removed  to 
Scott  garh,  Ramde'i  began  to  yield  through  the  happy  influ- 
ence of  that  pious  young  woman — a  woman  greatly  beloved 
by  the  whole  Scott  garh  community — and  on  being  asked 
whether  she  felt  any  desire  to  be  a  Christian,  replied  that  she 
did  sometimes  feel  that  way  inclined  now,  since  becoming  ac- 
quainted with  Rebecca;  but  afterwards  she  again  insisted  that 
her  heart  did  not  tell  her  to  be  a  Christian,  and  to  make  such 
a  profession  would,  therefore,  be  fruitless.  Mrs.  Martin  and 
Miss  Gordon  agreed  together  to  make  Ramde'i  the  subject  of 
prayer;  and,  doubtless,  the  Spirit  of  God  was  striving  with  her, 
though  she  knew  it  not. 

One  Sabbath  day  while  the  Martins  were  encamped  at  Scott 
garh,  a  number  of  Christian  and  non-Christian  women  stayed 
with  Mrs.  Martin  for  a  talk  after  the  close  of  public  worship. 
The  subject  of  that  day's  talk  was  the  impossibility  of  our 
cleansing:  our  own  hearts  and  fitting  ourselves  to  come  into 


374  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

God's  presence.  The  women  were  urged  to  come  to  Jesus, 
and  ask  Jiim  to  cleanse  their  hearts  and  fit  them  to  dwell  with 
himself.  As  Ramde'i  listened  to  the  account  of  Christ's  re- 
deeming love,  of  the  Spirit's  power  to  renew  her  heart,  and  of 
God's  vvillingness  to  give  the  Spirit  to  every  one  that  asketh, 
she  crept  up  nearer  and  nearer  to  Mrs.  Martin,  apparently  un- 
conscious of  what  she  was  doing,  until  she  sat  close  to  her 
feet,  listening  with  rapt  attention.  Rebecca  led  in  prayer  at 
the  close  of  their  little  meeting.  After  Mrs.  Martin  had  re- 
tired to  the  tent,  she  and  her  husband  engaged  in  prayer  spe- 
cially for  Ramde'i's  conversion.  When  prayer  was  over  and 
Mr.  Martin  went  out  of  the  tent,  Kana'ya  met  him  at  the  door 
with  the  joyful  news  that  his  wife  Ramde'i  was  at  last  decided, 
and  saying  that  now  she  desired  to  be  baptized. 

At  the  request  of  one  of  her  sons,  the  heathen  name  Ram- 
de'i (gift  of  Ram)  was  laid  aside,  and  the  name  Piya'r'i  (be- 
loved) substituted  in  its  place.  On  the  28th  of  February,  1871, 
the  Rev.  J.  P.  McKee  also  being  present  on  this  joyful  occa- 
sion, the  penitent  and  believing  Piya'ri,  now  no  longer  ashamed 
of  the  cross  of  Christ,  received  at  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  J.  S. 
Barr  the  Christian  ordinance  of  baptism,  after  which  the  happy 
husband  and  father  immediately  brought  forward  their  five 
children — the  sixth  being  yet  an  infant  in  the  arms  of  its 
mother — and  these  also  were  publicly  and  solemnly  acknowl- 
edged as  lambs  of  the  Good  Shepherd's  flock.  And  now, 
happy  Kana'ya — all  the  happier  for  the  dolorous  years 
through  which  he  had  passed — "  rejoiced,  believing  in  God 
with  all  his  house." 

Lah'nu  and  Gan'du,  the  two  oldest  sons,  were  soon  old 
enough  to  render  that  assistance  to  their  father,  Kana'ya,  in 
his  farm  work,  which  he  greatly  needed  in  order  to  support  so 
large  a  family,  and  at  the  same  time  meet  the  many  demands 
made  on  his  hospitality,  his  home  soon  becoming  a  free  ren- 
dezvous for  inquirers  and  converts  in  that  region.  The  boys 
showed  a  fondness  and  aptness  for  learning,  and  a  donation 
received  from  the  United  Presbyterian  Sabbath-school  of  Mad- 


THE    OUTCOME.  375 

ison,  Indiana,  was  given  to  aid  and  encourage  them  in  their 
efforts  to  obtain  an  education.  One  of  them  was,  on  the  7th 
of  April,  1885,  admitted  to  the  study  of  theology,  and  both  of 
them  are  actively  engaged  in  the  mission  work. 

Basso  and  Mak'han  have  become  the  wives  of  two  of  our 
young  preachers — graduates  from  our  Theological  Seminary — 
who  are  highly  esteemed  for  their  piety  and  zeal,  and  for  their 
industry  in  the  Lord's  work. 

Ruk'ko,  the  babe  that  was  carried  from  De'va  Singh's  fort 
to  Ja'mu  by  her  weeping  mother,  is  with  her  parents  at  Scott 
garh ;  the  youth  whose  heart  and  home  she  is  destined  to 
make  happy  having,  so  far  as  I  am  aware,  not  yet  appeared. 
On  a  recent  visit  to  Scott  garh,  I  had  the  great  satifaction  of 
of  seeing  her  engaged  as  teacher  of  the  women's  class  in  Dr. 
Martin's  flourishing  Sabbath-school.  The  Rev.  F.  H.  Baring, 
a  worthy  missionary  of  the  Church  of  England,  recently  offered 
a  series  of  prizes  to  be  competed  for  by  Christian  women  of 
every  denomination  throughout  the  Punjab' .  These  prizes 
were  offered  to  those  who  should  stand  the  best  test  examina- 
tions in  Bible  knowledge ;  and  it  is  gratifying  to  be  able  to  re- 
cord the  fact  that  on  examinations  being  held  in  the  spring  of 
1885,  the  highest  prize  was  awarded  to  Ruk'ko.  A  portion 
of  this  promising  young  woman's  time  has  been  devoted  of 
late  to  missionary  effort  in  behalf  of  the  heathen  women  in  the 
vicinity  of  Scott  garh. 

The  members  of  Kana'ya's  household  are  not  so  widely 
scattered  that  they  cannot  occasionally  meet  together;  and 
their  joyous  family  reunions  at  the  home  of  Kana'ya  and 
Piya'ri  in  Scott  garh  comprise  three  sons,  four  daughters,  two- 
sons-in-law,  two  daughters-in-law,  and  twelve  grand-children: 
— as  happy  a  family-gathering,  I  truly  believe,  as  can  be  found, 
anywhere  in  the  world.  Husband  and  wife,  parents  and  chil- 
dren, brothers  and  sisters — all  within  the  household  of  God,, 
and  actively  engaged  in  his  service,  are  now  an  hundred-fold 
more  to  one  another  than  they  were  or  could  possibly  be  be- 
fore forsakin'j;  all  for  Christ. 


276  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

The  Christian  community  of  Scott  garh  has  continued  to 
receive  from  time  to  time  accessions  from  the  heathen  ranks 
in  that  neighborhood ;  and  these  accessions  have  nearly  al- 
ways been  attended  with  more  or  less  excitement.  I  will, 
however,  mention  but  one  instance:  Jas'su,  a  Meg,  whose 
name  has  not  yet  appeared  in  our  narrative,  was  baptized  along 
with  his  wife.  Four  or  five  months  afterwards,  her  numerous 
relatives  prevailed  upon  her  to  leave  her  husband,  and  con- 
veyed her  away  secretly  by  night.  For  about  the  space  of 
two  years  she  lived  with  her  maternal  uncle  in  the  city  of 
Sam'ba  in  the  mountains  of  Kashmir'.  Abdul'lah,  then  one 
of  our  Christian  workers  at  Scott  garh,  and  now  a  licentiate, 
ascertaming  her  whereabouts,  wrote  a  letter  to  parties  in  Sam'- 
ba,  relating  briefly  the  case  of  Ramde'i,  and  ending  with  these 
laconic  words  :  "  Send  Jassu's  wife  peaceably — if  not,  then  be- 
ware !  "  Before  long  it  became  known  that  the  Sam'baites 
had  sent  Jas'su's  wife  across  the  line  into  the  SiaFkot  district, 
and  that  she  was  living  with  her  parents  in  the  village  of  Suk- 
ho-chak.  Abdul'lah  then  taking  along  Jas'su  and  old  Joa'la, 
proceeded  to  Sukho-chak,  when  her  relations,  with  other  vil- 
lagers, came  out  to  chase  them  away,  and  made  demonstra- 
tions of  anger. 

Abdullah  boldly  took  the  ground  that  as  the  woman  was  a 
Christian,  her  heathen  relatives  had  no  legal  right  or  author- 
ity whatever  to  detain  her.  Then  turning  to  her  husband,  he 
said:  ^'Jas'su,  take  your  wife,  and  let  us  go!'  Jas'su  seized 
her,  and  off  they  started,  the  relatives  fearing  to  offer  any  re- 
sistance, for  the  simple  reason  that  she  was  a  Christian.  In 
the  course  of  time  that  woman's  father,  mother,  sister, 
brothers — in  short,  her  whole  household,  twelve  persons  in 
all — were  converted;  and  now,  like  many  others,  they  look 
back  with  astonishment  at  their  own  folly  and  sin  in  persecut- 
ing Christians,  and  admire  the  Christian  meekness  and  patience 
with  which  it  was  all  endured. 

Were  I  writing  fiction,  I  would  feel  bound  to  anwer  the 
question :  "  What  became  of  the  did  fakir'?  "     But  dear  reader, 


THE   OUTCOME.  377 

I  can  only  say  that  the  old  man,  after  once  visiting  Scott  garh, 
naturally  fearing  detection  by  the  government,  as  you  may 
remember,  having  taken  part  in  the  Sepoy  rebellion,  preferred 
the  concealment  of  his  obscure  retreat,  where  he  probably  died 
long  since;  and  there  we  will  leave  him,  in  the  hope  that  he 
enjoys  the  reward  promised  by  him  who  remembers  even  a 
cup  of  cold  water  given  to  one  of  his  disciples. 

The  Christian  community  which  has  grown  up  at  Scott 
garh  during  the  twenty-seven  years  since  the  movement  be- 
gan, consists  entirely  of  converts  from  among  the  Meg,  or 
weaver  caste.  Organized  in  1879,  under  the  name  of  the 
Zafarwal'  congregation,  it  includes  all  Christians  living  in 
Jhandran',  Na'ya  Pind,  and  other  near  villages.  Kana'ya  and 
Bhaj'na  were  chosen  and  ordained  its  first  elders;  and  when, 
in  March,  1885,  it  was  deemed  that  additional  elders  were 
needed,  the  choice  of  the  congregation  fell  upon  Ka'lu,  of 
Na'ya  Pind,  and  the  once  dreaded  enemy,  Nat'tu,  of  Jhandran'. 
The  number  of  communicants  on  the  31st  of  December,  1884, 
was  59,  and  the  number  of  baptized  children  25.  Down  to 
the  same  date,  the  whole  number  of  persons  baptized  from  the 
first,  in  connection  with  this  congregation,  including  those 
who  have  died  or  removed,  was  105.  The  Sabbath-school  has 
three  native  officers  and  teachers,  and  40  scholars.  The  con- 
tributions of  the  congregation  in  1884  amounted  to  Rs.  75. 

On  the  original  eleven  acres  was  erected  a  cheap  structure 
of  sun-dried  clay,  to  serve  as  a  shelter  for  the  missionaries  who 
from  time  to  time  visited  Scott  garh.  This  has  in  later  years 
been  changed  into  a  school-house,  and  not  far  from  it  a  small, 
substantial  mission  dwelling  has  been  built,  in  which  Dr.  J.  S. 
Barr  fir.st,  and  Dr.  S.  Martin  afterwards,  have  made  their  ren- 
dezvous while  carrying  on  the  great  work  of  that  populous 
mission  district  during  the  past  seven  or  eight  years.  The 
congregation  and  Sabbath-school  continue  to  hold  their  meet- 
ings in  the  school-house,  but  are  beginning  to  talk  of  building 
a  substantial  church  whenever,  by  God's  blessing,  they  are 
able  of  themselves  to  afford  a  large  share  of  the  expense. 


378  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

I  have  now  given  a  particular  and  somewhat  lengthy  ac- 
count of  the  religious  movement  among  the  Megs.  Some 
may  perhaps  regard  this  narrative  as  disproportionately  long, 
and  liable  to  create  the  impression  that,  in  the  results  of  thirty 
years,  this  one  religious  movement  is  the  only  thing  worthy 
of  prominent  notice.  I  desire  not  to  make  any  such  impres- 
sion, for  the  Lord  is  carrying  on  a  work  of  the  same  kind  in 
other  parts  of  our  field  on  a  larger,  and,  in  some  respects,  a 
grander  scale  than  what  has  been  related  at  such  length. 
That  also  will  be  recorded,  though  necessarily  in  a  more  con- 
densed form.  With  this  disparity  no  one  ought  to  find  any 
fault.  Were  there  not  twelve  apostles?  and  did  they  not 
carry  the  gospel  far  and  wide  over  the  world?  Yet  the  Book 
of  their  Acts  is  almost  silent  about  anything  beyond  the  labors 
of  two  or  three  of  their  number,  and  that  within  a  limited  por- 
tion only  of  their  great  field ;  and  we  do  not  hence  conclude 
that  these  labors  are  the  only  ones  of  importance,  but  admit 
that  there  may  have  been  good  reasons  for  the  inequality. 
Why  then  have  I  given  more  space  to  a  part  of  our  work  than 
it  is  practicable  to  give  to  the  remainder?  It  is  not  because 
this  work  has  been  connected  with  my  own  personal  labors, 
since  I  have  had  no  special  prominence  in  it.  But  one  reason 
is  that  the  religious  movement  among  the  Megs  near  Zafarwal' 
began  and  developed  in  the  oldest  part  of  our  mission  field, 
and  was  the  first  well-defined  movement  of  the  kind.  Another 
reason,  and  perhaps  the  chief  one,  is  that  for  the  last  ten  years 
my  journeyings  to  and  from  our  missionary  and  other  meet- 
ings have  frequently  required  me  to  travel  through  the  scene 
of  this  movement,  and  so  led  to  a  more  particular  acquaintance 
with  our  people  and  work  in  that  locality.  My  third  reason 
is  that  a  missionary,  whilst  doing  his  own  share  of  the  work, 
cannot  find  time  to  acquaint  himself  thoroughly  and  partic- 
ularly with  all  '&iQ facts  in  all pai'ts  of  so  extensive  a  field;  for 
I  must  take  for  granted  that  all  who  are  seeking  profitable 
reading  on  the  subject  of  foreign  missions  want  particulars, 
not  sleepy  draughts  of  dull  generalities; /<a:^/.y  from  the  field, 
not  fictions  fabricated  at  the  fireside. 


CHAPTER    XXVII. 

boys'  and  girls'  orphanages — 1 865-'/ 5. 

I  WILL  now  fulfil  my  promise  made  at  the  close  of  a  pre- 
ceding chapter,  to  inform  the  reader  of  some  of  the  inter- 
esting characters  among  the  later  accessions  to  our  orphanage. 
De'vi  Bhai'jah,  a  Brahmin  and  an  army  officer,  was  killed  at 
the  siege  of  Lucknow  in  the  Sepoy  mutiny  of  1857.  His 
widow  and  two  sons,  the  younger  one  being  about  five  years 
old,  were  left  by  their  father  with  plenty  of  money,  but  were 
robbed  of  it  all,  and  reduced  to  want  soon  after  his  death. 
Threatened  with  starvation  during  the  famine  of  i86o-'6i, 
they  turned  their  faces  north-westward  towards  the  Panjdb' , 
whither  multitudes  were  flocking  in  search  of  food.  Wander- 
ing from  city  to  city,  and  from  village  to  village,  begging  their 
bread  by  the  way,  they  reached  Sial'kot,  seven  hundred  miles 
from  Lucknow,  where,  in  company  with  many  others,  they 
were  fed  from  day  to  day  by  the  hand  of  charity.  Here  they 
attracted  the  attention  of  the  Rev.  R.  A.  Hill,  who,  on  one 
of  his  visits  to  the  fatherless  and  widows,  easily  persuaded 
them, , together  with  another  bright  boy,  whose  name  was 
Karm  Dad,  to  accompany  him  and  make  their  home  with 
other  orphans  under  his  care  on  the  north  mission  premises. 

Tha'kur,  the  widow's  younger  son,  received  the  Christian 
name  George  Lawrence  Tha'kur;  his  mother  was  named 
Ruth,  and  his  elder  brother  Wallace,  whilst  Karm  Dad's  name 
remained  unchanged. 

When  Mr.  Hill  left  India  for  America  in  the  year  1863, 
these  boys,  along  with  several  others,  were  placed  in  the  Boys* 
Orphanage  of  our  mission  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Barr,  and  soon 
afterwards  went  with  him  to  Gujranwa'la,  whither  this  institu- 
tion was  removed. 

(379) 


380  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

George  Lawrence  Tha'kur  was  fond  of  study.  Being  yet 
a  small  boy,  he  went  to  a  me'la  in  company  with  a  number  of 
our  Christian  workers.  Whilst  one  of  the  catechists  was  pro- 
claiming the  Gospel,  as  is  usual  on  such  occasions,  he  was 
rudely  confronted  by  a  Muhammadan  opponent,  who  blasphe- 
mously said  to  him :  "  Your  God  is  a  fool  and  a  bear,  and  I 
can  prove  it  from  your  own  book."  Young  Tha'kur,  seeing 
the  catechist  unable  to  answer  his  adversary,  felt  very  much 
humiliated,  and  said  to  himself:  "  This  catechist  would  not 
need  to  turn  his  back  to  the  enemy  in  such  a  cowardly  man- 
ner if  only  he  were  well  educated."  From  that  time  he  resolved 
that  he  would  educate  himself  thoroughly,  and,  like  a  man, 
prepare  to  give  battle  to  the  enemy. 

In  the  year  1867,  after  Mr.  Barr  had  struggled  along  three 
or  four  years  without  buildings  in  Gujranwa'la,  two  thousand 
rupees  were  invested  in  a  building,  erected  nominally  for  the 
boys'  orphanage;  but,  for  want  of  other  accommodations,  used 
also  as  a  mission  dwelling  and  a  church.  That  year  the  char- 
acter of  the  boys'  orphanage  changed  to  meet  a  demand  for 
the  education  of  the  children  of  Christian  families.  Neither 
men  nor  means  being  available  for  the  establishment  of  a  sepa- 
rate boarding-school  for  Christian  boys,  their  education  was 
provided  for  along  with  that  of  the  orphans.  The  following 
year,  1868,  a  still  greater  economy  was  effected  by  discontinu- 
ing this  school  altogether  and  sending  its  pupils  to  the  mis- 
sion school  opened  that  year  in  the  city  of  Gujranwa'la,  chiefly 
for  the  sons  of  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  parents.  In  this 
school  Tha'kur  soon  rose  to  be  a  teacher,  and  during  a  short 
period  supported  himself  by  spending  a  part  of  his  time  in  the 
work  of  teaching,  and  devoting  the  remainder  to  his  studies. 
In  December,  1870,  he  passed  the  Calcutta  Uuniversity  en- 
trance examination;  and  after  this,  under  the  tuition  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Martin,  he  studied  mathematics,  mental  and  moral 
philosophy,  and  English,  until  he  was  nearly  ready  to  be  ex- 
amined with  a  view  to  passing  the  degree  of  First  Arts. 

As  the  missionaries  were  too  few,  and  too  heavily  burdened^ 


c\ 


REV.  CiEDRf  E    LAWRENCE   THAKUR. 


boys'  and  girls'  orphanages.  381 

to  be  able  to  spare  time  to  carry  him  further  forward  in  his 
secular  studies,  they  asked  him  to  decide,  at  this  stage  of  pro- 
gress, whether  he  would  go  to  the  Labor  College  to  complete 
a  higher  literary  education,  or  at  once  begin  his  special  pre- 
paration for  the  gospel  ministry.  He  chose  the  latter  course, 
and,  under  the  tuition  of  the  Rev.  J.  P.  McKee,  by  appoint- 
ment of  the  Presbytery,  he  studied  theology  and  church  his- 
tory, and  the  Greek  and  Hebrew  languages,  doing  regular 
work  at  the  same  time,  either  as  a  teacher  in  one  of  the  mis- 
sion schools,  or  as  a  bazar  and  village  preacher.  On  the  27th 
of  December,  1875,  he  was  formally  licensed  by  his  Presbytery 
to  preach  the  gospel,  and  on  the  28th  of  December,  1877,  was 
ordained  an  Evangelist.  His  principal  field  of  labor  has  been 
Pasrur'  and  vicinity,  a  division  of  the  Civil  District  of  Sial'kot, 
struck  off  in  January,  1884,  as  a  separate  missionary  district, 
and  in  which  he  was  appointed  Superintendent  of  Missions. 

India  is  famous  for  its  gypsies,  of  whom  there  are  many 
tribes,  all  differing  in  numerous  particulars  from  one  another. 
I  will  give  a  brief  description  of  two  of  these  tribes,  known  as 
Nats  and  Bhcrgliuts.  In  dress,  outward  appearance,  and  gen- 
eral habits,  they  are  much  alike;  but  the  Nats  are  richer  and 
of  a  higher  caste  than  the  Bherghiits,  never  intermarrying  with 
them,  and  often  treating  them  as  slaves. 

The  favorite  occupations  of  both  of  these  tribes  are  stealing 
cows  and  sheep,  and  dealing  in  counterfeit  mone)%  to  which 
the  Nats  add  the  business  of  highway  robbery.  Without  any 
fixed  home,  and  passing  their  lives  in  tents,  both  Nats  and 
BhcrgJints  are  accustomed  to  make  long  journeys  of  many 
hundreds  of  miles  by  short  marches,  carrying  along  not  only 
their  goods,  but  the  little  children,  the  sick  and  the  superannu- 
ated of  their  tribe  on  these  extended  journeys,  and  using  their 
ponies,  cows  and  buffaloes  as  beasts  of  burden.  Their  shabby 
and  squalid  camp  equipments  are  light  and  suitable  for  rapid 
movement.  In  their  journeyings  they  follow  no  beaten  track, 
but  wind  about  the  country,  taking  special  care  to  avoid  re- 
visiting places   where    they    have    recently    committed    theft. 


382  OUR   INDIA    MISSION. 

After  obtaining  good  money  for  their  counterfeits,  they  often 
carry  it  in  the  inside  of  the  posts  of  their  charpa'is,  which  are 
made  hollow  for  this  purpose.  When  they  find  their  accumu- 
lations of  money  and  other  valuables  becoming  too  cumber- 
some for  their  mode  of  living,  they  deposit  these  with  some 
Muhammadan  house-holder,  to  whom  they  pay  storage,  and 
on  whom  they  draw  for  their  money  and  goods  at  convenience. 

These  tribes  are  very  hardy,  even  the  women  being  remark- 
able for  their  prowess.  When  mutton  is  wanted,  two  or  three 
of  their  number  visit  a  flock  of  sheep  which  is  pasturing  at  a 
great  distance  from  their  camp;  one  Bhcrgluit  engages  the 
simple  shepherd's  attention,  whilst  another  slips  one  or  two 
sheep  away  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  flock.  If  the  owners 
are.  seen  following  them  to  their  camp,  the  stolen  animal  is 
quickly  slaughtered,  the  meat  is  stowed  away  in  the  ample 
pockets  of  the  women's  skirts,  which  are  sometimes  made  with 
as  many  as  thirty  breadths  of  cloth  in  them,  and  the  skin  and 
oflal  are  flung  into  a  stream,  after  which  the  pursuers,  on  com- 
ing up,  are  coolly  allowed  to  search  to  their  hearts'  content. 

Both  of  these  tribes  burn  their  dead,  carry  the  bones  of 
their  deceased  friends  to  the  Ganges,  and  worship  idols.  Their 
chief  objects  of  worship  are  Hanuman',  a  fabulous  monkey 
general  of  Herculean  size  and  strength,  which  figured  in  their 
ancient  wars,  and  Ma'ta  De'v'i,  the  goddess  of  small-pox.  As 
Hanuman'  was  powerful  enough  to  hurl  mountains  at  his  en- 
emies, a  single  cake  offered  to  him  (and  eaten  by  themselves) 
must  be  no  less  than  lOO  pounds  in  weight.  In  the  rainy  sea- 
sons they  retire  in  a  body  to  unfrequented  jungles,  for  the  pur- 
poses of  celebrating  their  marriages  and  trying  cases,  both 
civil  and  criminal,  which  have  arisen  between  the  members  of 
their  own  tribe.  For  such  suits  they  have  their  own  courts 
and  judges,  no  one  of  their  caste  being  allowed  to  carry  any 
case  into  the  government  courts,  under  pain  of  excommunica- 
tion. In  some  cases — including  those  of  adultery — the  ac- 
cused person  is  tried  by  ordeal ;  for  example,  seven  leaves  of 
2l  p'i'pal  t\-QQ  are  laid  upon  his  hands,  and  upon  the  leaves  are 


boys'  and  girls'  orphanages.  383 

placed  three  pounds  of  red-hot  iron,  which  he  must  carry  a 
distance  of  ten  paces;  if  his  hands  are  burned  in  the  least,  he 
is  pronounced  guilty.  It  is  in  these  jungle  retreats  that  the 
gypsies  can  venture  to  luxuriate  in  Kashmir'  shawls  and  other 
valuable  stolen  goods. 

These  people,  strange  to  say,  make  it  a  matter  of  principle 
never  to  steal  at  night,  and  some  idea  of  how  the  Nats  rob 
people  in  open  day  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  story, 
which  was  related  to  me  by  an  eye-witness :  A  company  of 
Nats  were  once  marching  into  a  camping-ground,  a  part  of 
which  was  already  occupied  by  a  number  of  low-caste  TJial'yes. 
These  Nats  purposely  dropped  some  sacks  of  their  own  bag- 
gage a  few  rods  from  the  spot  where  they  were  pitching  their 
tents,  A  boy  belonging  to  their  ow^i  company  was  then 
directed  to  stroll  among  some  asses  belonging  to  the  TJial'yes, 
which  were  grazing  upon  the  grounds,  and  drive  one  of  them 
over  the  sacks,  as  though  unintentionally.  Next  in  order,  a 
woman  from  the  Nat  party  took  one  of  her  brass  images  of 
Ma'ta  De'v'i,  and  secretly  slipping  it  among  the  sacks,  raised 
a  hue  and  cry  in  the  camp  that  an  ass  belonging  to  those  low- 
caste  TJial'yes  had  polluted  her  idol  by  walking  over  it.  Im- 
mediately all  the  Nats  raised  an  outcry  about  the  defilement 
of  their  De'v'i]  at  the  same  time  seizing  their  clubs  and  shields, 
they  rushed  upon  the  TJial'yes  and  began  beating  them  unmer- 
cifully. 

The  poor  TJial'yes,  in  great  astonishment,  exclaimed,  "  What 
is  the  matter  ?  " 

"What  is  the  matter?"  repeated  the  Nats.  "Your  ass  has 
polluted  our  De'v'i — this  is  the  matter.  Our  goddess  will  now 
be  angry  with  us,  and  will  surely  kill  our  children." 

The  poor  TJial'yes,  taking  for  granted  that  the  trespass 
charged  upon  their  poor  innocent  dumb  ass  had  really  been 
committed,  and  feeling  conscience-smitten,  humbly  begged  that 
they  should  not  be  beaten,  and  offered  to  give  whatever  might 
be  necessary  to  appease  Md'td  De'vi,  if  only  the  amount  were 
named. 


384  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

The  Nats  replied :  "  When  we  assemble  in  the  coming  rainy- 
season,  no  less  than  five  or  six  goats,  three  or  four  hundred 
pounds  of  rice,  ten  or  twelve  rupees'  worth  of  clarified  butter, 
and  fifteen  or  sixteen  rupees'  worth  of  rum,  will  be  required  to 
please  our  De'viy 

Thereupon  the  repentant  Thal'yes  pathetically  begged  that 
the  amount  of  the  fine  might  be  diminished,  and  finally  got 
clear  only  by  paying  the  robbers  fifty  rupees  from  their  scanty 
means. 

In  the  same  company  of  Nats  in  which  this  incident  oc- 
curred there  lived  an  old  man  who  was  a  very  devoted  disciple 
oi  Md'ta  De'v'i,  and  who  officiated  as  priest  at  their  marriages 
and  burials,  as  judge  at  their  trials,  and  as  the  healer  of  their 
sick,  especially  of  those  tormented  by  witches.  This  man  had 
a  fine  little  boy,  who  was  tall  and  slender,  and  as  erect  as  a 
grenadier.  The  father,  aware  that  he  was  approaching  the  age 
at  which  he  must  think  of  a  successor,  took  his  little  son,  and 
squatting  with  him  before  Md'td  De'v'i,  said :  "  My  son,  I  am 
growing  old.  Learn  now,  I  pray  thee,  to  serve  Md'td  De'vi 
as  do  I,  that  thou  mayest  be  prepared  to  occupy  my  office 
when  I  shall  be  no  more."  Then  bowing  down  before  the 
dumb  idol,  the  heathen  parent  assumed  the  attitude  of  an  angry 
bull,  tossing  his  head  about  and  thrusting  as  though  about  to 
attack  some  invisible  foe  with  his  horns:  "  This,  my  son,"  said 
he,  "  is  the  first  lesson." 

Then  the  old  man,  with  both  hands,  seized  a  scourge  made  of 
small  iron  chains,  and  with  it  savagely  flagellated  his  own  bare 
back,  striking  violently  first  over  one  shoulder,  then  over  the 
other,  and  adding — "Thou  also,  my  son,  shalt  do  likewise." 

Then  working  himself  up  into  a  state  of  excitement,  the  de- 
luded idolater  gashed  his  thigh  with  a  razor  and  drank  the 
blood  which  gushed  from  his  own  veins,  saying  to  his  child, 
"  When  thou  doest  thus,  my  son,  Md'td  De'v'i  will  be  pleased, 
and  the  witches  which  torture  thy  patients,  seeing  what  a  fierce, 
cruel  and  violent  man  thou  art,  will  become  terrified  and 
depart." 


boys'  and  girls'  orphanages.  385 

In  the  year  1864,  a  company  oi  Bherghuts,  who  were  trav- 
ehng  through  the  district  of  Gujranwa'la,  stole  a  herd  of  cows. 
The  owners  and  the  pohce  pursued  them,  identified  the  cattle, 
and,  after  being  handled  very  roughly,  succeeded  in  capturing 
the  thieves.  A  company  oi  Nats  also,  owing  to  similarity  of 
dress  and  outward  appearance,  were  by  a  mistake  of  the  author- 
ities arrested  at  another  place  near  the  same  time.  When  the 
BhergJmt  party  saw  that  they  could  not  escape,  they  put  their 
silver  and  gold  into  an  earthen  pot  and  buried  it  under  a  tree. 
Both  of  these  bands  were  imprisoned;  and  their  children — 
nine  boys  and  ten  girls — were  sent  to  our  mission  orphanages. 

The  boy  who  had  been  so  carefully  trained  by  his  father  for 
the  service  of  Md'ta  Dc'v'i,  and  whose  name  was  Nasa'rali, 
was  one  of  the  nineteen.  When  the  whole  company  of  nine- 
teen children  were  brought  to  the  mission  premises  in  Gujran- 
wa'la  by  a  public  officer,  and  drawn  up  in  line  in  front  of  the 
mission  dwelling,  Nasa'rali  earnestly  besought  the  missionary 
to  permit  them  all  to  go  back  to  their  native  jungle. 

The  missionary  replied :  "  You  have  been  sent  to  us  by  the 
authority  of  the  government,  and  we  have  no  power  to  let  you 
go  ;  besides,  your  parents  being  all  detained  in  prison,  what 
could  you  do  in  the  jungle?  Surely  you  would  all  starve  to 
death." 

"  Why  should  we  starve,  S'd'hib  ?  "  said  the  bold  lad  Nasa'- 
rali, "  I  am  a  very  skillful  thief,  and  can  easily  steal  enough 
for  all,  if  only  you  will  please  to  let  us  go." 

After  these  children  had  been  in  the  orphanage  about  two 
years,  some  of  the  parents,  including  Nasa'rali's  father,  were 
released  from  prison,  when  they  came  immediately  to  the  mis- 
sion for  their  children,  iDut  found  them  unwilling  to  leave  their 
orphan  homes.  Nasa'rali's  father  took  hold  of  the  clean  white 
cotton  clothes  of  his  son  and  said,  contemptuously,  "  Is  it  for 
the  sake  oi  siicJi  apparel  that  thou  art  content  to  dwell  with 
Christians?  We  have  Kashrn'ir'  shawls,  yea,  double  shawls, 
in  richest  store  for  thee;  silver  and  gold  also  have  we  in  great 
abundance,  and  plenty  of  cases  are  now  waiting  for  thee  to 
25 


386  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

decide  as  soon  as  thou  wilt  return.  Come  thou  with  me,  my 
son;  I  am  now  old,  and  if  thou  forsake  us  who  will  minister 
at  the  shrine  of  Md'td  De'v'i  when  I  depart  hence  ?  " 

"  My  father,"  said  Nasa'rali,  "  your  gods  of  brick  and  stone 
are  false  gods.  Our  God  alone  is  able  to  do  all  things,  and  is 
all  in  all." 

"No,  no,  my  son,  this  is  not  true,"  replied  the  old  man;  and 
turning  to  Mr.  Scott,  who  was  present,  he  added:  "  I  am  going 
to  court  for  my  son,  and  I  will  have  him;  if  I  must  spend  his 
weight  in  silver,  it  matters  not  a  whit;  I  will  spend  it,  and  get 
my  son." 

Soon  afterwards  the  missionaries  were  summoned  to  appear 
in  court,  and  bring  with  them  the  children  of  the  gypsies  who 
had  been  released  from  prison.  The  judge,  placing  the  hea- 
then parents  at  the  one  side  of  the  court-room  and  the  mis- 
sionaries at  the  other,  ordered  those  of  the  children  whose 
ages  were  sixteen  years  and  upwards,  to  choose  for  themselves 
between  living  with  Christians  and  returning  to  their  heathen 
relatives;  when  Ruth,  Harriet,  and  Nasa'rah  immediately  took 
their  places  beside  the  missionaries.  But  Chu'pan  atnd  Ba'ja, 
sisters  of  Nasa'rali,  together  with  a  younger  brother,  and  some 
others,  were  all  under  the  prescribed  age  at  which  the  gov- 
ernment permits  children  to  act  independently  in  matters  of 
religion.  These  having  been  with  Christians  about  two  years, 
had  learned  to  read  their  New  Testament,  and  to  sing,  "  The 
Lord's  my  shepherd,  I'll  not  want,"  and  had  heard  of  the  love 
of  Jesus,  and  seen  and  tasted  something  of  the  goodness  of 
God  during  their  sojourn  in  the  mission.  They  even  had 
with  them  in  the  court-room  at  that  very  time  their  Cate- 
chisms and  New  Testaments,  which  they  had  learned  to  prize 
above  the  gold  and  silver  and  precious  things  which  abound 
in  gypsy  camps.  These  minors  were  ordered  by  the  judge  to 
go  with  their  heathen  parents  ;  but  they  all  ran  to  the  mission- 
aries and  clung  to  their  feet,  trembling  and  crying  at  the 
thought  of  being  taken  back  to  their  tribes.  Concerning  what 
here  occurred,  a  missionary  writes  that  he  "will  not  forget, 


boys'  and  girls'  orphanages.  387 

while  life  remains,  the  last  scene  in  the  court-room,  when 
those  poor  children  rushed  to  him  and  clung  to  his  knees, 
suing  for  protection  against  the  court  police,  who  were  en- 
deavoring to  conduct  them  to  their  parents.''  And  he  adds : 
"We  would  fain  draw  a  veil  over  the  fate  of  those  poor  girls." 
When  these  children  were  taken  back  by  their  heathen  rela- 
tives, their  books  were  taken  from  them  and  burned. 

In  the  year  1867,  the  father  of  Paul  Nasa'raH  ("Paul"  being 
added  to  his  name  at  his  baptism)  came  to  him  secretly  on  the 
mission  premises  in  Gujranwa'la  and  said:  "I  have  heard,  my 
son,  that  thou  desirest  to  leave  the  Christians  and  go  with  me, 
and  I  have  come  for  you," 

"  It  is  false,"  said  Nasa'rah,  "  No  wish  have  I  to  go,  and  to 
no  one  have  I  ever  expressed  such  a  desire." 

The  old  man,  having  fabricated  the  story  about  his  son 
wishing  to  leave  the  mission,  and  having  felt  confident  of  win- 
ning him  over  by  this  means,  took  his  refusal  very  much  to 
heart,  and  gave  expression  to  his  feelings  in  a  most  affecting 
manner. 

A  Christian  lad  who  stood  by,  witnessing  the  father's  dis- 
tress, was  deeply  moved,  and  said  to  Paul  Nasa'rali :  "  See  how 
fondly  your  poor  old  father's  heart  is  set  on  you,  and  consider 
how  far  and  how  often  he  has  come  for  you !  Much  better 
would  it  be  for  you  to  go  with  him,  than  to  see  him  thus  die 
of  a  broken  heart.     Have  you  no  pity?" 

"Yes,  I  do  pity — "  Nasa'rah  began  to  say,  with  a  soul  full 
of  anguish,  but  was  compelled  to  finish  his  sentence  with  a  fit 
of  weeping,  which  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  genuineness  and  in- 
tensity of  his  filial  love.  After  recovering  himself  a  little,  he 
continued :  "  I  see  that  I  cannot  love  Jesus  and  love  my  father 
too."  Again  breaking  forth  into  bitter  lamentation,  he  cried  : 
"Oh,  what  shall  I  do?"  And  again,  after  obtaining  sufficient 
control  of  himself  to  frame  his  thoughts  into  words,  he  said 
to  the  Christian  lad  who  stood  silently  watching  this  terrible 
struggle :  "  He  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me  is 
not  worthy  of  me." 


388  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

The  lad  added  thoughtfully:  "Yes,  this  is  indeed  triiey 

Paul  Nasa'rah,  addressing  his  young  adviser  once  more, 
said,  "  Tell  me  now,  brother,  what  you  think  I  ought  to  do." 

The  Christian  youth,  unprepared  to  give  advice  in  so  mo- 
mentous a  crisis,  held  his  peace. 

After  the  three  had  continued  for  some  time  without  a  word, 
Nasa'rali  finally  begged  his  father  to  depart,  and  not  repeat  his 
visits,  which  caused  only  grief  and  sorrow;  and  the  desolate 
and  disappointed  old  man  retired — to  return. 

Through  all  this  struggle,  which  at  the  time  was  quite  un- 
known to  any  missionary,  or  to  any  Christian  adviser  except 
the  weak  and  wavering  lad  who  has  been  mentioned,  poor 
Nasa'ral'i  was  powerfully  tempted,  and  many  weary  days  passed 
before  he  ceased  to  grieve  for  his  aged  parents.  But  the  words 
of  Jesus  were  his  support.  By  faith  in  those  precious  sayings 
which  fell  from  the  Saviour's  own  blessed  lips,  recorded  in  the 
tenth  chapter  of  Matthew,  the  young  disciple  withstood  the 
tempter  and  came  off  conqueror. 

Subsequent  to  this  the  gypsies  frequently  gave  the  mission- 
aries in  charge  of  the  orphanages  more  or  less  trouble.  In 
one  instance  they  enticed  away  a  boy  who  never  returned;  in 
another  by  making  a  false  claim  in  the  court  they  succeeded 
in  taking  away  one  of  the  girls;  and  in  still  another,  they 
attempted  vainly  to  bribe  one  of  the  girls  with  gold;  receiving 
the  decided  answer  that  she  had  found  something  far  better 
than  their  gold. 

On  the  1 8th  of  November,  1868,  whilst  Miss  Gordon  was 
seated  at  dinner  with  her  brother  J.  W.  Gordon  and  his  family, 
in  their  home  in  Sial'kot,  to  which  the  girls'  orphanage  was 
attached,  they  were  all  suddenly  startled  by  the  clear,  shrill 
voice  of  a  little  girl  who  stood  on  the  door-step  crying  out, 
vehemently,  "  Is  Ko'ki  here?     Ko'ki!     I  want  to  live  here." 

The  missionaries  at  first  suspected  that  she  had  been  sent 
as  a  spy  from  the  gypsies  to  aid  in  removing  some  of  the  in- 
mates of  the  Orphanage ;  but  this  suspicion  was  soon  removed 
by  the  child's  earnest  desire  to  be  admitted. 


boys'  and  girls'  orphanages.  389 

Miss  Gordon,  by  way  of  testing  the  child's  motives,  said : 
"  If  you  come  to  hve  with  us,  we  will  make  you  work." 

"  But  I  want  to  live  here — work  here  is  not  like  work  there ; 
they  stole  me  away  from  my  father  and  mother,  and  made  me 
a  slave;  when  the  horses  get  loose  they  make  me  go  out  to 
hunt  for  them  in  the  dark,  and  they  beat  me.  I  want  to  stay 
here ;  I'll  do  any  work  you  tell  me,  but  I  want  to  live  here." 

"  If  you  come  here  to  stay,"  Miss  Gordon  continued,  "  we 
will  whip  you  every  time  you  are  naughty." 

"But  I  want  to  live  here,  I  want  to  live  here,"  iterated  the 
earnest  little  soul,  casting  anxious  glances  all  the  while  to- 
wards the  road,  in  dread  expectation  of  being  ca-ught  and 
carried  off  by  her  cruel  masters. 

Miss  Gordon,  inwardly  yielding  to  the  little  creature's  im- 
portunity, said:  "We  will  not  be  able  to  admit  you  into  the 
same  place  occupied  by  the  other  girls ;  you  will  live  in  a  sep- 
arate room,  at  least  for  a  while,  and  sleep  on  the  floor." 

The  excited  little  fugitive  replied  to  this  as  to  everything 
else,  only  by  earnestly  and  vehemently  reiterating :  "  I  want  to 
live  here,  I  want  to  live  here." 

The  master  of  Doba'di — for  this  was  her  name — had  re- 
quired a  pail  of  water  from  a  distant  well,  and  she  had  volun- 
teered to  go  for  it;  seizing  this  golden  opportunity  for  escape, 
she  left  her  vessel  at  the  well,  and  found  her  way  to  the  mis- 
sion. 

A  short  time  after  being  admitted  to  the  Girls'  Orphanage, 
Doba'di  gave  every  one  a  pleasant  surprise  by  starting  up  the 
familiar  Psalm,  "The  Lord's  my  Shepherd,  I'll  not  want,"  and 
singing  it  through  from  beginning  to  end.  It  was  then  ascer- 
tained that  she  had  learned  this,  and  much  more  of  what  was 
good,  from  the  children  who  two  years  before  had  been  taken 
away  from  the  Orphanage  by  their  gypsy  relatives. 

Doba'di  was  legally  made  over  by  the  civil  magistrate  in 
Sial'kot  to  the  girls'  orphanage,  after  which,  being  called  into 
court  as  a  witness,  she  gave  important  testimony  which  led  to 
the  conviction  and  imprisonment  of  a  leading  man  of  her  tribe 


390  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

for  dealing  in  counterfeit  money.  Efforts  were  made  by  her 
people  to  recover  her  by  law,  and  afterwards,  to  waylay  and 
sieze  her  by  force ;  had  these  efforts  proved  successful,  it  is 
believed  by  those  who  know  the  character  and  customs  of  the 
Nat  tribe,  that  she  would  have  been  put  to  death. 

Mr.  Barr's  aim  in  his  labors  bestowed  upon  the  orphan  boys 
may  be  understood  by  the  following  brief  quotation  from  one 
of  his  annual  reports :  "  If  any  preachers  are  raised  up  from 
among  them  [the  orphan  boys],  our  care  and  labor  will  not  be 
in  vain." 

Miss  Gordon's  ideal  of  a  girls'  orphanage  may  be  gathered 
from  a  few  sentences  which  I  take  in  a  condensed  form  from 
an  essay  read  at  the  Panjab'  Ladies'  Missionary  Conference 
held  at  Labor  in  1882,  in  which  she  wrote  as  follows: 

"  L  They  [the  orphan  girls]  should  all  have  moral  and  reli- 
gious training. 

"  IL  They  should  by  all  means  learn  to  read  the  Bible. 

"  in.  Those  who  have  talent  for  much  beyond  these  ac- 
quirements should  receive  a  liberal  education. 

"  IV.  The  girls  should  if  possible  be  all  taught  to  sing,  that 
they  may  join  in  chanting  the  the  praises  of  God. 

"  V.  They  should  learn  to  cook,  wash  and  mend ;  to  cut  out 
and  sew  garments,  nurse  the  sick,  care  for  young  children, 
buy  provisions  and  clothing  and  take  charge  of  them,  and 
keep  the  family  accounts. 

"  The  aim  should  be  to  make  good  Christian  wives,  quali- 
fied to  really  help  their  hard-working  husbands.  Should  any 
be  fit  to  rise  higher  (if  that  were  possible),  such  training  would 
not  by  any  means  hinder  them,  but  would  be  a  good  founda- 
tion." 

The  account  of  our  Boys'  and  Girls'  Orphanages  will  now 
be  closed  with  a  few  words  concerning  the  results. 

Piya'ri  Harper,  at  the  age  of  about  twenty,  was  married  to 
George  Lawrence  Tha'kur.  A  year  afterwards  she  died,  giv- 
ing very  satisfactory  evidence  of  unwavering  faith  in  her  Sa- 
viour.    During  her  last  hours.  Miss  Calhoun  was  sent  for  to 


boys'  and  girls'  orphanages.  391 

pray  with  her,  but  so  happy  and  triumphant  did  she  find  Pi- 
ya'ri  in  the  hour  of  departure,  that  she  felt,  as  she  said,  more 
like  praising  than  praying. 

George  Lawrence  Tha'kur,  in  addition  to  his  evangelistic 
labors  already  noticed,  filled  the  position  of  Professor  of 
Church  History  in  our  Theological  Seminary  during  the  sum- 
mers of  i^j^-'j'j-']^.  His  literary  productions  may  be  de- 
scribed as  follows: 

I,  The  Character  of  Christ,  and  of  Muhammad.  The  second 
edition  of  this  work  of  fifty  pages  is  now  in  the  market. 

n.  The  Unnecessariness  of  the  Koran ;  a  book  of  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-five  pages,  an  edition  of  which  the  Rev.  E.  M. 
Wherry,  of  the  Ludhia'na  mission,  published  by  subscription. 

III.  Defence  of  the  Bible,  conidanmg  four  hundred  and  fifty 
pages,  is  a  critical  answer  to  a  voluminous  work  written  by 
learned  Muhammadans,  in  which  they  compiled  and  used  for 
their  own  purposes  such  objections  to  the  Bible  as  are  both 
stated  and  answered  in  Home's  Introduction  and  other  works 
on  Christian  evidences. 

IV.  The  Superjiatural  Birth  of  Christ  Vindicated,  is  a  reply 
to  a  book  by  Muhammadan  rationalists — seventy  pages. 

V.  The  Philosophy  of  Revelation,  was  partly  published  in 
newspaper  articles,  and  will  comprise  five  hundred  pages  when 
completed  in  book  form,  for  which  subscriptions  were  (in  1885) 
being  solicited  by  the  Rev.  C.  B.  Newton,  Superintendent  of 
the  Ludhia'na  mission  press, 

Nasa'rali  married  Bas'so,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Kana'ya. 
After  completing  his  course  of  theological  studies,  he  was 
licensed  in  January,  1882.  For  several  years  past  he  has 
been  faithfully  laboring  in  the  important  field  of  which  the  vil- 
lage of  Mira'li  is  the  centre,  and  was  ordained  at  Mira'li  by 
the  Sial'kot  Presbytery  on  the  12th  of  November,  1885. 

Jenny  Dean  is  the  helpmate  of  Abdul'lah,  one  of  our  licen- 
tiates, who  has  for  several  years  been  laboring  in  the  western 
part  of  the  Gurdas'pur  District. 

Karm    Dad,   after   completing    his   course   of    theological 


39-  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Studies,  was  licensed  in  January,  1883.  He  is  now  a  ruling 
elder  in  our  Sial'kot  congregation,  and  an  efficient  worker  in 
the  villages  of  the  Sial'kot  Mission  District,  and  also  a  mem- 
ber of  the  municipal  council  of  the  city  of  Sial'kot — a  signifi- 
cant fact,  illustrating  the  civil  and  social  advancement  with 
which  God  has  within  the  past  thirty  years  favored  the  native 
Christians  in  the  Panjab'. 

Doba'di,  who  so  persistently  sought  admission  to  the  Girls' 
Orphanage,  is  the  wife  of  J,  Cooper,  one  of  our  colporteurs, 
and  has  been  useful  as  a  Bible  woman. 

Mary  Anna,  another  of  the  ten  gypsy  maids,  has  long  been 
and  is  still  an  efficient  helper  to  Miss  Gordon  in  her  Zan'd'na 
work.      , 

The  largest  number  in  the  Boys'  Orphanage  at  any  one  time 
was  twenty-four,  of  whom  twelve  were  really  orphans,  the  rest 
being  children  of  Christian  families,  admitted  as  boarders.  Of 
the  twelve  orphan  boys,  two  have  become  ordained  ministers, 
one  a  licentiate,  seven  useful  workers  either  in  our  own  or 
some  other  mission,  whilst  two  have  gone  back  to  the  world. 
Out  of  seventeen  girls^I  speak  here  also  of  orphans  exclu- 
sively— all  made  a  public  profession  of  religion  except  one, 
who  was  only  prevented  from  doing  so  by  a  sad  accident 
which  caused  her  sudden  death.  Nine  of  the  seventeen  have 
been  useful  as  helpers  in  the  mission  work.  Eight  of  them 
are  at  this  time  mothers  of  Christian  families,  some  of  whom 
are  training  their  children  in  a  manner  that  can  hardly  be  ex- 
pected of  mothers  who  have  not  themselves  received  a  careful 
training.  Four  of  the  seventeen  died  in  the  faith,  giving  very 
satisfactory  evidences  of  their  trust  in  the  Saviour.  Three  of 
tlie  seventeen  have  returned  to  the  world. 


CHAPTER    XXVIII. 

CONCLUSION    OF   THE   SECOND    DECADE    OF    OUR    MISSION. 

DISCOURAGEMENTS  AND  ENCOURAGEMENTS  —  NEHUSHTAN — J.  W.  GOR- 
DON RETURNS  TO  AMERICA — OLD  THEORY  EXPLODED — ORPHANAGES 
DISCONTINUED — BOYS'  AND  GIRLS'  SCHOOLS  OPENED — ZANANA  WOR-K 
BEGUN — NEW  FIELDS  OPENED — INCREASE  OF  COMMUNICANTS  AND  OF 
SCHOLARS — ARRIVALS  AND  DEPARTURES  OF  MISSIONARIES — THE  REV. 
J.  P.  m'keE — THE   REV.  T.  L.  SCOTT — MISS  ELIZA  CALHOUN. 

1.  These  second  ten  years  were  characterized  by  disheart- 
ening and  continuous  discouragements  from  without,  and  by 
a  genuine  and  most  encouraging  work  of  God  within,  which 
gradually  grew  and  extended  throughout  the  entire  period. 

2.  The  way  was  opened  up  during  this  period  for  Christians 
to  live  in  their  own  native  villages  after  their  conversion — the 
possibility  of  their  so  living  becoming  somewhat"  apparent  as 
early,  at  least,  as  the  beginning  of  1870. 

3.  The  old  method,  so  generally  followed  by  missionaries  in 
North  India,  of  collecting  or  colonizing  native  Christian  con- 
verts on  mission  premises  or  elsewhere,  and  providing  in  some 
way  for  their  supporter  employment,  was,  in  the  course  of  this 
decade,  discontinued  in  our  mission.  Seemingly  accessary  in 
earlier  years,  it  became  later  in  our  history  the  source  of  many 
evils,  encouraging  false  pretensions  to  religious  inquiry,  hin- 
dering the  developing  of  a  spirit  of  independence  in  the  con- 
verts, increasing  the  number  of  hangers-on,  cherishing  a  mer- 
cenary spirit  among  the  native  Christians,  breeding  jealousies 
and  discontent,  and  proving  in  every  way  a  serious  hindrance 
to  edification.  This  method,  no  longer  necessary  now  that 
Christians  could  gain  a  livelihood  in  their  own  native  villages, 
and  being  productive  of  so  many  and  so  great  evils,  was  finally 
and  utterly  abolished ;  and  had   it  existed  in  the  form  of  a 

(393) 


394  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

"brazen  serpent"  it  would,  doubtless,  have  been  "broken  in 
pieces,"  and  stamped  with  the  epithet  "  Nehushtan." 

4.  All  attempts  to  colonize  converts  on  mission  premises 
resulting  in  evil,  and  being  abandoned,  the  necessity  for  any- 
such  institution  as  an  industrial  school  ceased,  since  the  need 
of  such  institutions  arose  only  from  the  supposed  necessity  of 
bringing  converts  away  from  their  native  villages  and  collect- 
ing them  around  us  on  mission  premises. 

5.  Mr.  J.  W.  Gordon  and  his  wife,  who  were  sent  out  by 
the  General  Assembly  of  1865,  and  whose  chief  labors  were 
connected  with  the  Industrial  School,  returned  to  America  in 
1 87 1.  It  is  in  the  mission  report  for  1872  that  one  of  our 
missionaries  wrote:  "All  our  efforts  to  colonize  or  separate 
Christians  from  others  have  failed."  The  Lord's  design,  doubt- 
less, was  not  only  that  the  native  converts  should  be  the  salt 
of  the  earth,  but  that  the  salt  should  be  kept  where  it  was 
needed  and  would  accomplish  the  greatest  good — in  the  native 
communities  of  the  converts  themselves ;  and  all  of  our  efforts 
to  remove  this  salt  were  providentially — I  will  rather  say  gra- 
ciously— defeated.  Our  theory  was  that  Christian  converts,  if 
left  among  their  persecuting  heathen  neighbors,  so  widely  dis- 
tributed over  the  country  that  their  gathering  together  for  in- 
struction was  impossible,  would  practically  return  to  their 
former  heathen  condition,  or  become  salt  that  had  lost  its 
savor;  that  they  should,  therefore,  be  brought  away  and  or- 
ganized into  new  communities,  where  they  could  readily  be 
regularly  instructed,  as  well  as  shielded  from  persecution.  But 
we  now  see  that  these  very  persecutions  which  they  were  to 
meet  from  their  heathen  neighbors  were  needed  to  make  them 
circumspect  and  cement  them  together  in  love  as  brethren,  and 
that  such  persecutions  have  proved  a  most  important  and  ef- 
fectual means  of  developing  and  strengthening  their  Christian 
character.  As  we  look  back  from  the  year  1885,  when  con- 
verts are  greatly  multiplied,  we  see  that  their  very  numbers 
alone,  had  no  other  difficulty  arisen,  would  long  ere  this  have 
rendered  impracticable  any  scheme  that  could  be  devised  for 


CONCLUSION    OF   THE   SECOND    DECADE.  395 

their  support.  As  one  of  the  brethren  has  remarked:  "Our 
industrial  and  colonization  schemes  were  like  our  feeble  efforts 
to  water  our  gardens  in  the  hot  and  parching  winds  of  May 
and  June;  when  the  rains  of  July  and  August  begin  to  pour 
down  in  torrents  all  over  India,  our  few  drops  of  artificial 
watering  are  no  longer  necessary." 

6.  Food  being  cheap  and  plentiful  in  the  Panjab'  for  a  series 
of  years,  and  no  children  being  sent  in  to  fill  the  places  of  the 
otphan  girls  who  were  married  from  time  to  time,  their  num- 
ber gradually  decreased,  until,  in  the  latter  part  of  1871,  the 
Girls'  Orphanage  was  closed,  and  the  time  that  was  formerly 
devoted  by  the  missionaries  to  this  institution  was  now  given 
to  other  needy  departments  of  the  great  work. 

7.  In  the  same  way  the  Boys'  Orphanage  at  Gujranwa'la 
was  discontinued  in  the  beginning  of  1872, 

8.  In  April,  1868,  a  school  for  Hindu,  Muhammadan,  and 
Christian  boys  was  established  in  the  city  of  Gujranwa'la. 
This  school  was  undertaken  after  long  delay  and  much  hesi- 
tation. The  native  citizens  of  Gujranwa'la  used  such  argu- 
ments for  its  establishment,  and  were  so  importunate,  that  the 
missionary  at  that  station  felt  the  necessity  of  pressing  for- 
ward, believing  that  the  Lord  was  thus  opening  the  way  for 
the  extension  of  Christian  influence  in  that  important  city. 

9.  During  the  same  year — 1868 — schools  for  non- Christian 
girls  were  opened  in  the  city  of  Gujranwa'la.  In  view  of  addi- 
tional lady  missionaries  being  soon  sent  out  from  America, 
two  such  schools  were  opened,  with  an  attendance  of  fifty  girls, 
and  temporarily  managed  by  Mrs.  Barr.  Early  in  the  year 
1869,  steps  were  taken  to  open  similar  schools  in  Sial'kot; 
from  that  time  forward,  girls'  schools  have  occupied  a  promi- 
nent place  in  our  mission  work. 

10.  Closely  following  the  establishment  of  such  schools,  and 
intimately  connected  with  them,  the  important  work  of  house 
to  house  visitation,  usually  styled  "  zand'na  work,"  was  initi- 
ated, with  the  design  of  carrying  the  word  of  God  to  native 
women  who  lived  in  seclusion. 


396  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

11.  A  house  for  our  missionary  in  Gujranwa'la  was  com- 
pleted at  last,  in  the  year  1869,  and  a  building  for  church  and 
school  purposes  in  the  same  city  was  so  far  completed  that  it 
was  occupied  by  the  close  of  1874. 

12.  In  the  year  1872  a  new  mission  station  was  opened  in 
the  city  of  Gurdas'pur,  the  civil  headquarters  of  government 
for  a  populous  district  of  the  same  name. 

13.  If  the  reader  has  perused  our  chapter  on  "Beginnings 
of  Mission  Work,"  he  may  remember  that  we  set  out  from 
Sial'kot  in  November,  1856,  on  an  expedition,  one  object  of 
which  was  to  take  up  Jhi'lam  as  a  new  mission  station,  and 
that  after  journeying  five  miles  of  the  sixty,  we  were  compelled 
by  adverse  circumstances  to  abandon  the  expedition  without 
accomplishing  our  object.  Seventeen  years  later,  in  1873,  a 
second  and  this  time  a  successful  attempt  was  made  to  take 
possession  of  that  important  city. 

14.  The  number  of  communicants  increased  in  this  decade 
from  thirty-four  to  one  hundred  and  fifty-three,  the  largest  net 
increase  in  any  one  of  the  ten  years  being  thirty-nine — the  re- 
sult of  the  labors  of  the  very  last  year  of  the  period.  One 
native  ordained  minister  died,  and  none  were  added,  during  the 
ten  years  under  review.  The  number  of  scholars  in  our  day 
schools  increased  from  thirty  to  eleven  hundred  and  forty- 
three. 

15.  The  band  of  foreign  ordained  missionaries  having  been 
reduced  at  the  beginning  of  these  ten  years  from  three  to  one, 
was  increased  by  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  S.  Martin  in  May, 
1867,  and  of  the  Rev.  J.  P.  McKee  in  February,  1 871,  thus 
attaining  once  more,  in  the  sixteenth  year  of  our  history,  the 
same  numerical  strength  which  the  mission  had  in  its  second 
year.  But  the  missionary  who  last  arrived  had  scarcely  been 
in  the  field  long  enough  to  learn  the  language,  when  the  Rev. 
J.  S.  Barr  was  compelled,  after  laboring  eleven  years  in  India, 
to  return  to  America  for  a  rest  early  in  1873,  This  reduced 
our  number  to  two,  at  which  it  remained  nearly  two  years, 
until  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  T.  L.  Scott,  in  December,  1 874. 


RF:V.  JAMES  p.   McKEE. 


MRS.  MAflGIE    MrKEE. 


JAMES    P.    McKEE.  39/ 

Miss  Gordon  was  the  only  unmarried  lady  missionary  from 
the  beginning  of  1855  to  the  end  of  1864,  Her  long  voyage 
home  via  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  with  a  short  stay  of  five 
months  in  America,  and  a  speedy  return  to  India  by  way  of 
the  Red  Sea,  left  her  place  entirely  vacant  about  fifteen  months, 
after  which  she  again  continued  alone  nearly  five  years  more, 
until  the  arrival  of  Miss  Calhoun  and  Miss  Welsh  in  January, 
1870.  By  Miss  Welsh's  early  return  to  America  in  1872,  the 
number  of  unmarried  female  missionaries  was  reduced  to  two. 
It  was.  further  reduced  by  Miss  Gordon's  absence  in  America 
during  the  years  1873-74,  and  raised  to  two  again  by  her  re- 
turn to  India  early  in  1875. 

16.  Brief  sketches  of  the  lives  of  some  of  the  new  mission- 
aries who  arrived  in  India  for  the  first  time  between  the  years 
1865  and  1875  will  now  be  given,  those  we  omit  having  been 
already  mentioned. 

The  Rev.  James  P.  McKee  was  born  on  the  27th  of  June, 
1843,  ""1  Laughaghary,  County  Down,  Ireland.  In  the  year 
1859  h^  became  a  member  of  the  Associate  Presbyterian  (now 
Irish  Presbyterian)  congregation  of  Laughaghary,  under  the 
pastorate  of  the  Rev.  Robert  Morehead — a  congregation  which 
has  given  to  the  Church  more  Presbyterian  ministers  than  any 
other  one  in  Ireland,  at  least  three  of  whom  have  labored  as 
missionaries  in  India. 

Mr.  McKee  received  the  early  part  of  his  literary  training 
in  the  Royal  Academic  Institution  of  Belfast.  Removing  to 
the  United  States  in  1864,  and  entering  Westminster  College, 
New  Wilmington,  Pa.,  the  following  year,  he  was  graduated  at 
that  institution  in  1868.  His  brother,  the  Rev.  J.  G.  McKee, 
of  the  Freedmen's  Mission,  being  at  that  time  seriously  ill  at 
Nashville,  Tenn.,  he  went,  at  the  request  of  the  secretary  of 
the  Freedmen's  Board,  to  take  the  place,  temporarily,  of  his 
ailing  brother. 

After  seeing  his  brother  started  for  the  North,  and  a  regular 
missionary  in  his  place  at  Nashville,  he  served  for  a  time  un- 
der Gen.  Eaton  in  the  Educational  Department  of  the  Govern- 


398  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

ment,  and  was  afterwards  appointed  Superintendent  of  Public 
Instruction  for  Davidson  county,  Tennessee,  by  the  Governor 
of  that  State. 

On  the  1 2th  of  January,  1869,  he  was  married  to  Miss  Mag- 
gie Junkin  Dickey,  of  New  Wilmington,  Pa.  In  October  of 
the  same  year  he  resigned  the  position  of  Superintendent  of 
Public  Instruction,  and  returned  to  Allegheny  City  to  complete 
his  theological  studies,  which  had  been  commenced  during  his 
collegiate  course. 

The  United  Presbyterian  General  Assembly  of  1870  met  in 
Pittsburgh,  Pa.  The  Rev.  J.  C.  Nevin  having  just  returned 
from  the  China  mission,  the  Assembly  was  seeking  a  new  mis- 
sionary to  fill  his  place  in  that  field.  Mr.  McKee,  at  that  time 
a  student  at  the  Theological  Seminary  in  Allegheny  City,  hap- 
pened in  to  listen  to  the  proceedings  of  the  Assembly,  and  as 
he  was  walking  up  the  aisle  was  observed  by  the  Rev.  Joseph 
Pressly  and  Elder  James  McLane,  upon  which  the  one  said : 
"  Is  not  that  McKee  ?  "  "  Yes,"  said  the  other,  "  it  is,  and  he 
is  just  our  man  for  China." 

Mr.  Pressly  then  took  Mr.  McKee  aside,  and  asked  him 
whether  he  would  be  willing  to  go  as  a  missionary  to  China; 
to  which  he  replied  that  he  could  not  say,  never  having  thought 
upon  the  subject.  Mr.  Pressly  again  asked,  "  Can  you  give 
any  good  reason  for  refusing  to  go,  in  the  event  of  your  being 
appointed  ?  "     "  At  present,"  said  he,  "  I  cannot." 

Mr.  Pressly  then  conferred  with  Dr.  Dales,  the  Correspond- 
ing Secretary  of  the  Board,  and  the  result  of  this  conference 
was  Mr.  McKee's  appointment  to  China,  which  was  soon  after- 
wards officially  announced  to  him  by  Dr.  Dales;  and  arrange- 
ments were  made  forthwith  for  his  licensure  early  in  June  of 
that  year. 

As  there  had  been  some  talk  of  discontinuing  the  China 
mission,  Mr.  McKee,  in  tlie  course  of  correspondence  with  the 
Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  requested  that  he  might  not  be 
sent  to  China  if  this  were  at  all  likely  to  take  place.  The 
Board  then  offered  him  his  choice  of  any  one  of  the  four  fields 


MISS    ELIZA    CALHOUN.  399 

— Egypt,  Damascus,  China,  or  India.  But  he  decHned  to 
make  a  choice,  saying,  "  Send  me  wherever  you  think  best, 
only  do  not  send  me  to  a  field  soon  to  be  abandoned,  in  which 
my  time  and  preparatory  labors  would  be  wasted."  The  Board 
then  decided  by  appointing  him  to  our  India  mission.  Mr. 
McKee  received  the  announcement  with  very  great  satisfac- 
tion; for  whilst  yet  only  a  lad  of  fifteen,  a  lively  interest  in 
India  had  been  awakened  in  his  mind  by  his  uncle,  the  Rev. 
James  McKee,  a  returned  missionary,  leading  him  to  resolve 
thus  early  in  life,  that  if  ever  he  should  enter  the  ministry,  and 
the  way  should  open  up,  he  would  labor  in  India. 

Mr.  McKee  was  ordained  the  first  week  of  September,  1870, 
by  the  Lake  Presbytery,  from  which  he  had  received  his 
license.  Then,  returning  to  Allegheny  City,  he  continued  his 
theological  studies  up  to  the  very  day  before  he  started  for 
India. 

On  the  5th  of  November,  1870,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McKee  sailed 
from  New  York  by  an  Anchor  Line  steamer  for  Liverpool. 
This  first  part  of  their  voyage  was  rough  and  tedious,  occupy- 
ing no  less  than  seventeen  days,  during  which,  their  supply  of 
coal  becoming  exhausted,  steam  was  kept  up  by  burning  the 
small  boats,  spare  spars,  barrels,  and  other  available  material. 
After  a  short  stay  in  Ireland,  and  another  in  Egypt,  they 
landed  in  Bombay  on  the  2d  of  February,  1871,  whence,  trav- 
eling partly  by  rail  and  the  remainder  by  stage,  they  arrived 
at  Gujranwa'la  on  the  i  ith  of  the  same  month. 

Miss  Eliza  Calhoun  was  born  on  the  5th  of  January,  1845, 
at  Hookstown,  Beaver  county,  Pa.  After  receiving  a  common 
school  education,  she  attended  the  Hookstown  Academy  for  a 
time,  and  then  entered  Westminster  College,  where  she  com- 
pleted the  scientific  course,  and  was  graduated  on  the  24th  of 
June,  1869.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year  she  received  her  ap- 
pointment to  our  India  mission,  and  sailed  from  New  York  in 
company  with  Miss  Welsh,  arriving  in  the  mission  field  in 
January,  1870. 

The  first  ten  months  of  her  missionary  life  were  devoted 


400  OUR    INDIA   MISSION, 

almost  exclusively  to  the  study  of  the  Urdu  language,  in 
which  she  made  such  good  progress  as  to  call  forth  an  expres- 
sion of  satisfaction  from  the  mission  at  their  meeting  in  Janu- 
ary, 1 87 1.  From  that  time  she  took  charge  of  the  schools 
opened  in  the  city  of  Sial'kot  for  heathen  girls.  At  the  end 
of  her  second  year  she  was  transferred  from  Sial'kot  to  Guj- 
ranwa'la,  where  she  labored  for  eight  years  in  girls'  schools 
and  zand'nas.  After  this  she  was  absent  a  year  and  eight 
months  in  America.  On  her- return  to  India,  she  devoted  her 
time  exclusively  to  zandhia  visitation,  easily  gaining  access 
with  her  Bible  to  many  homes  to  which  her  previous  years  of 
labor  iiT  the  girls'  schools  now  afforded  her  a  ready  and  favor- 
able introduction. 

On  the  5th  of  January,  1884,  she  was  united  in  marriage  to 
the  Rev.  Marcus  M.  Carleton,  of  the  Presbyterian  mission  in 
India. 

Miss  Calhoun's  twelve  years  and  four  months  of  actual  ser- 
vice in  our  mission  were  characterized  by  great  energy  and 
efficiency.  Under  her  management  chiefly,  our  girls'  schools 
in  Gujranwa'la  attained  a  degree  of  perfection  as  educational 
institutions  which  called .  forth  very  flattering  notices  from 
officers  in  the  educational  department  of  the  government. 
Her  parting  words  were:  "May  the  mantle  of  charity  cover 
all  my  mistakes.  And  if  any  good  has  been  done,  all  the 
praise  be  to  him  for  whose  sake  the  work  was  undertaken." 

The  Rev.  Theodore  L.  Scott  was  born  at  Middle  Lancaster, 
Butler  county,  Pa.,  on  the  21st  of  November,  1847.  Being  of 
a  somewhat  delicate  physical  frame,  and  receiving  in  his  boy- 
hood a  bodily  injury  which  unfitted  him  for  great  physical  ex- 
ertion, he  turned  his  attention  to  study.  His  literary  course 
was  commenced  at  Westminster  College,  and  completed  at 
Monmouth  College,  where  he  was  graduated  in  1873.  His 
theological  studies  were  pursued  chiefly  at  our  Theological 
Seminary  in  Newburg,  N.  Y.,  after  which  he  was  licensed  to 
preach  the  Gospel  by  the  First  United  Presbyterian  Presbytery 
of  New  York  in  the  spring  of  1874.     At  the  meeting  of  the 


MISS  ELIZA   CALHOUN. 


REV.  THEODORE  L.  SCOTT. 


MRS.  ANNA  E.  SCOTT. 


THEODORE    L.  SCOTT.  4OI 

General  Assembly  at  Monmouth,  III.,  in  May  of  the  same  year, 
he  was  appointed  a  missionary  to  India.  After  preaching  three 
months  in  the  vicinity  of  Sidney,  Ohio,  he  was  in  August  of 
that  year  ordained  by  the  Beaver  Valley  Presbytery;  and  on 
the  1st  of  the  ensuing  month  was  married  to  Miss  Agnes  Mar- 
shall, of  Lawrence  county.  Pa. 

On  the  26th  of  September,  1874,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Scott  sailed 
from  New  York  for  India,  accompanied  by  Miss  E.  G.  Gordon, 
then  making  her  third  voyage  to  that  field.  Journeying  via 
England  and  Egypt,  they  arrived  at  Bombay  on  the  27th  of 
November,  and  at  Gujranwa'la  on  about  the  4th  of  December, 
1874.  After  spending  a  year  at  Gujranwa'la,  chiefly  in  the 
study  of  the  vernacular,  Mr.  Scott  was,  in  the  beginning  of 
1876,  permanently  located  in  Jh'i'lam,  to  carry  on  general  mis- 
sion work  in  that  city  and  the  surrounding  district  of  the  same 
name. 

Mrs,  Scott,  after  a  brief  sojourn  among  us — only  about  six 
years,  during  which  her  gentle  Christian  life  endeared  her  to 
her  fellow  laborers  in  the  mission — passed  to  her  rest  and  her 
reward,  at  Murree  Hill  station,  on  the  25th  of  October,  1880, 
being  the  first  of  our  foreign  missionaries  to  die  in  India. 

Mr.  Scott  was  subseqently  married  to  Miss  Anna  E.  Wilson, 
of  Beaver  county.  Pa.,  in  January,  1883. 
26 


CHAPTER    XXIX. 

CONVERSION   OF    MUHAm'mAD    a'lIM — WORK    BEGUN    IN   JHI'lAM. 

MUHAM'MAD  A'LIM  was  the  first  convert  in  the  new 
mission  district  of  Jhi'lam.  Being  a  Maul'av'i  (learned 
doctor  and  priest  of  the  Muhammadan  religion),  the  story  of 
his  conversion,  interesting  in  itself,  will  reveal  to  us  some  of 
the  fearful  struggles  of  an  educated  Muhammadan's  mind  as 
he  passes  from  death  into  life — from  Moslem  darkness  into 
the  marvelous  light  of  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God ;  I  there- 
fore give  his  history  with  some  degree  of  fullness  and  particu- 
larity. 

Muham' mad  A' lim  wdiS  horn  in  the  year  1835,  in  the  town 
of  Arang'abad',  two  miles  south  of  the  city  of  Jh'i'lam.  After 
reaching  the  years  of  manhood,  he  received,  like  his  father  be- 
fore him,  whether  he  labored  or  not,  a  yearly  income  of  three 
hundred  rupees  from  as  many  families,  for  whom  he  filled  the 
priestly  office.  To  this  income  he  began,  in  1859,  to  add  ten 
rupees  a  month  by  teaching  school  in  his  native  town,  which 
he  continued  for  about  eight  years. 

Some  time  during  the  last  named  period  he  was  awakened 
to  a  deep  and  painful  sense  of  his  personal  responsibility  to 
God,  and  of  his  entire  unfitness  to  appear  before  him  in  judg- 
ment; and  to  obtain  light  and  comfort,  he  devoted  himself  to 
visitingy(3:>^i:r.y'. 

It  is  believed  in  India  that  fakirs'  live  more  apart  from  the 
world,  and  nearer  to  God,  than  other  men.  A  Maid'avi  must, 
to  maintain  a  good  reputation  among  Moslems,  read  prayers 
and  perform  all  other  religious  duties  strictly  in  accordance 
with  Muhammadan  law;    but  a  Muhammadan /(S^/^zV,*  if  he 

*There  zxt.  fakirs'  belonging  to  all  religious  sects  in  India, 

( 402 ) 


CONVERSION    OF   MUHAM'mAD    ALIM.  4O3 

only  abstain  from  theft  and  other  outward  immorahties,  is  held 
in  reverence  by  the  people,  and  believed  in  as  a  man  who  re- 
ceives communications  from  God,  even  though  he  do  not  for- 
mally say  prayers  according  to  their  law.  To  such  men  Mu- 
ham'mad  A'lim  in  his  soul  trouble  resorted  in  search  of  the 
true  knowledge  of  God  and  holiness  of  heart,  which  he  felt  he 
must  attain  or  forever  perish. 

By  one  of  these  fakirs'  he  was  directed  to  repeat  a  certain 
portion  of  the  Koran  and  Hadts'*  one  hundred  times  daily, 
for  forty  days,  with  the  assurance  that  he  would  by  this 
means  obtain  the  desire  of  his  heart.  Muham'mad  A'lim  re- 
peated these  faithfully  as  directed,  but  was  compelled  to  report 
to  his  spiritual  guide  that  he  experienced  no  benefit  from  the 
same.  He  went  to  another/rt/^i:>',  receiving  similar  directions, 
with  which  he  complied,  with  no  better  result.  He  then  went 
to  others,  some  of  whom  prescribed  different  portions  of  the 
Koran  and  traditions,  but  all  in  vain.  In  one  instance  the 
KasVda  Gau'siya,  a  certain  poem  containing  one  hundred 
lines,  was  prescribed,  which,  according  to  \kie  fakir's'  order,  he 
recited  twenty-five  times  nightly  for  forty  nights,  standing  in 
the  Jhi'lam  river  with  water  up  to  his  neck,  in  November  and 
December,  the  coldest  months  of  the  year.  Those  forty  days, 
moreover,  he  fasted,  limiting  himself  strictly  to  the  daily  allow- 
ance of  a  cup  of  milk,  and  as  much  meal  only  as  could  be 
made  from  two  ounces  of  barley;  but  no  relief  came  to  his 
distressed  soul.  For  a  period  of  three  long  years  he  sought 
to  quench  his  thirst  at  these  empty  cisterns,  until  he  had  faith- 
fully tried  all  the  four  tribes  oi  fakirs' ,  styled  Naksliban'di, 
Kd'diri,  Sonnar'di,  and  Chish'tt,  and  finding  that  he  was  still 
the  same  restless,  hungry  and  thirsty  sinner  as  before,  his 
"heart  entirely  departed"  from  following  diiter fakirs' . 

In  his  distress  of  mind  he  not  only  closed  his  school,  but 
discontinued  the  reading  of  the  Koran,  his  duties  as  a  niaid'avi, 
his  reading  of  prayers,  and  the  whole  routine  of  religious 
duties  required  of  him  by  the  law  as  a  faithful  Muhammadan. 

*  Hadts,  traditional  sayings  of  Muhammad,  which  now  have  the  force  of  laws. 


404  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

The  sin  which  above  all  others  troubled  Muham'mad 
A'lim's  conscience,  was  the  deception  which  he,  like  other 
maul' avis,  was  accustomed  to  practice  upon  his  people  in  the 
course  of  his  priestly  duties.  As  an  illustration  of  this,  I  will 
relate  the  following:  On  the  death  of  a  certain  rich  man  in  his 
parish,  he  was  called  upon  as  the  priest  to  officiate  at  the 
funeral;  but  the  sons  of  the  deceased  gave  him  less  for  per- 
forming the  funeral  service  than  he  thought  he  ought  to  re- 
ceive. Now,  if  a  Muhammadan  dies  on  Thursday  or  Friday, 
he  goes  straight  to  Paradise ;  but  if  on  any  other  day  of  the 
week,  he  goes  to  an  intermediate  state,  from  which  he  can  be 
delivered  only  by  the  maul' avis  dixvd  fakirs'  reading  the  Koran 
at  his  grave  until  Thursday  comes  again.  This  rich  man  hav- 
ing died  on  the  Sabbath,  Muham'mad  A'lim  set  six  fakirs'  at 
his  grave  to  read  the  Koran  until  the  return  of  the  lucky 
Thursday,  giving  them  special  instructions  as  to  how  they 
should  proceed.  Accordingly,  when  night  came,  they  pre- 
tended that  the  grave  was  all  on  fire,  and  began  to  beat  it 
most  vigorously  with  sticks,  as  though  endeavoring  to  extin- 
guish the  flames  of  the  burning  grave,  keeping  this  up  ener- 
getically, and  in  great  earnest,  until  the  grave  was  entirely 
leveled  with  the  ground.  Strewing  fresh  ashes  from  a  fire 
they  had  built  alongside  over  the  ground,  they  made  the 
grave  appear  as  though  it  had  actually  been  on  fire.  Then 
Muham'mad  A'lim  and  his  six  fakirs'  hastened  to  the  de- 
ceased man's  village,  and  stood  trembling  before  the  door  of 
his  house,  with  faces  aghast  with  terror.  The  rich  man's  sons, 
suddenly  thrown  into  great  consternation,  cried  out :  "  What 
is  the  matter.?     What  calamity  has  fallen  upon  us?" 

"What  is  the  ;;/«//£';'.?"'  repeated  the  niaul'avi,  ^\th.  agita- 
tion ;  "  your  father  has  been  giving  forth  the  voice  of  wailing 
and  of  lamentation,  and  flames  of  fire  have  been  issuing  from 
his  grave?  We  did  our  utmost  to  extinguish  the  fire,  but 
were  finally  compelled  to  flee  for  our  lives,  and  are  now  out  of 
hell  only  because  we  continued  so  earnestly  and  diligently  to 
read  the  Koran — all  this  because  you  have  deceitfully  kept 
back  what  was  our  just  due." 


CONVERSION    OF    MUHAM'mAD    ALIM.  405 

"Be  silent!  we  beseech  you,  maul'azn  Sd'hib"  said  the  rich 
man's  sons;  "speak  it  not  aloud,  lest  people  say  to  us,  'Your 
father  is  in  hell — the  maul'avl  says,  your  father  is  in  hell,  and 
I  have  fled  from  the  grave  with  my  fakirs'  to  escape  the  de- 
vouring flames.'  Tell  it  not!  O  holy  man,  that  we  be  not 
covered  with  disgrace." 

The  heirs  gave  the  maul'avl  two  milk  buffaloes  worth  eighty 
rupees,  a  mare  worth  thirty,  garments  for  himself  and  wife 
worth  twenty  more,  and  twenty-five  rupees  in  cash,  after  which 
the  worthy  maul'avl  and  his  equally  worthy  accomplices,  with 
cheerful  alacrity,  arranged  the  grave  becomingly  and  read  the 
Koran  continuously  over  it  until  the  next  Thursday,  when  the 
deceived  family  believed  their  father  to  be  now  safe  in  Paradise. 

As  a  learned  maul'avl,  Muhammad  A'lim  enjoyed  the  con- 
fidence of  his  people  to  such  a  degree  that  he  could  easily  de- 
ceive them;  he  was  their  "man  of  God,"  and  they  trusted  him. 
But  when  he  began  to  associate  with  holy  fakirs'  their  confi- 
dence in  him  was  increased,  and  they  regarded  him  as  a  great 
and  saintly  man.  Many  of  them  traveled  long  journeys  to  lay 
their  humble  petitions  before  him,  believing  that  by  virtue  of 
his  superior  holiness  he  possessed  secret  power  to  heal  their 
diseases;  some  even  bringing  their  sick,  and  begging  the  favor 
of  his  spitting  upon  them.  In  all  these  practices  they  were 
encouraged  by  the  false  pretensions  which  he  put  forth  to 
deceive  them. 

The  sin  of  duping  the  people  with  such  pretensions,  and 
that,  too,  for  mere  worldly  gain,  burdened  Muham'mad  A'lim's 
conscience  beyond  endurance,  causing  him  often  in  his  retire- 
ment to  cry  out:  "O  God,  what  am  I !  they  come  to  me  be- 
lieving that  I  am  able  to  heal  their  sick  and  relieve  them  from 
trouble;  but  I  am  empty — I  am  nothing." 

The  appellation  maul'avl  (doctor)  being  an  honorable  title, 
Muham'mad  A'lim  concluded  that  in  this,  perhaps,  was  to  be 
found  the  cause  of  his  great  trouble.  Every  one  calling  him 
Maul'avl  Sd'hib,  Maul'avl  Sd'hib,  and  his  accepting  of  such 
honors,  made  him  esteem  himself  better  than  other  men,  and 


406  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

fostered  pride  in  his  heart ;  and  true  holiness  he  feared  could 
not  be  attained  so  long  as  his  heart  was  full  of  pride.  In  order, 
therefore,  to  root  out  this  pride,  selecting  the  most  despised 
class  of  people — the  Chuh'rds—he  openly  called  them  good, 
and  himself  bad,  and  ate  bread  from  their  hands ;  at  the  same 
time  purposely  neglecting  all  the  essential  duties  of  the  Mu- 
hammadan  religion  and  disclaiming  all  power  and  holiness  as 
zfakt/.  This  unprecedented  course  of  action  perplexed  and 
disgusted  his  fellow  maul' avis  and  former  admirers,  who  could 
only  explain  his  mysterious  conduct  on  the  theory  that  he  had 
fallen  under  the  curse  of  some  holy  fakir' ,  whom  he  had  dis- 
obeyed; whilst  to  his  own  troubled  heart  it  brought  no  com- 
fort, leaving  him  still  in  the  same  wretched  condition  as 
before. 

Having,  as  already  stated,  ceased  to  perform  the  religious 
duties  pertaining  to  a  maul'avi,  he  now  dropped  all  intercourse 
with  both  maul' avis  and/akirs',  remaining  at  home  and  earn- 
ing a  livelihood  by  tilling  the  ground,  going  abroad  only  oc- 
casionally to  visit  a  mosque  or  a  graveyard,  where  he  sat  and 
wept  in  solitude,  no  longer  indulging  the  hope  of  finding  re- 
lief from  man,  and  seldom  speaking  a  word  to  any  one. 

Then  he  began  to  pray  nightly  this  prayer:  "O  God,  if  I 
should  die  in  my  present  condition  I  would  surely  go  to  hell; 
for  I  have  no  good  works  to  bring  before  thee.  Be  thou  mer- 
ciful to  me,  and  then  I  can  be  saved ;  otherwise  have  I  no 
hope." 

After  continuing  thus  to  make  his  confession  and  supplica- 
tion nightly  for  the  greater  part  of  a  year,  he  changed  his 
prayer  to  the  following :  "  I  know,  O  God,  that  the  Koran,  the 
Hadis,  the  Shas'ters,  and  the  sayings  of  fakirs' ,  are  all  all 
lies!  And  now,  O  God,  if  there  be  such  a  thing  as  truth, 
and  if  there  be  a  way  with  which  thou  art  pleased,  reveal  it, 
I  beseech  Thee,  unto  me." 

These  confessions  and  desires  offered  up  to  God  by  Muham'- 
mad  A'lim  did  not  originate,  as  some  may  be  ready  to  sup- 
pose, from  a  partial  knowledge  of  the  Bible  and  acquaintance 


CONVERSION    OF    MUHAM^'mAD   ALIM.  40/ 

with  missionaries.  He  was  aware,  it  is  true,  that  the  English 
rulers  of  the  country  were  called  Christians,  but  knew  them 
only  to  dread  and  hate  them  as  k'd'firs;  and  as  regards  our 
Holy  Bible,  he  believed  with  all  Muhammadans  that  whilst  it  is 
inspired  by  God  and  binding  upon  men,  it,  having  been  taken 
up  to  heaven,  cannot  be  within  reach  of  mortals.  The  only 
light  he  possessed,  so  far  as  we  can  judge,  was  that  of  nature, 
supplemented  by  such  a  knowledge  of  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ments as  had  come  down  wretchedly  distorted  and  perverted 
through  the  medium  of  the  Koran.  Groping  his  way,  and 
like  Cornelius  the  centurion,  using  the  best  means  in  his 
power  to  come  into  possession  of  the  true  light,  he  said : 
"  Suppose  now  that  God  should  make  a  revelation  to  me,  how 
could  I  distinguish  it  from  a  communication  from  Satan  or 
some  other  evil  spirit?"  And,  to  avoid  the  danger  of  being 
misled,  he  began  to  use  a  new  prayer,  which  consisted  of 
these  three  petitions :  "  O  God,  appoint  a  time,  and  let  it  be 
between  the  hours  of  two  and  four  o'clock,  either  in  the  day 
or  night;  let  this  be  one  sign.  2d.  Let  me  know  the  form 
and  appearance  of  him  by  whom  thou  wilt  make  thy  way 
known  to  me!  And  3d.  Let  that  one  say  to  me,  of  his  own 
accord  without  my  questioning  him — '  Tu  Khudd'  k'i  rah  ko 
hd'sil  kar'nd  chdh'td  half '  ('  Dost  Thou  desire  to  know  the  way 
of  God?  ')  And  by  these  signs  will  I  surely  know  thj^t  Thou, 
God,  hast  sent  the  messenger,  and  that  his  communication  is 
not  from  Satan  or  any  of  his  agents,  but  from  the  only  true 
and  living  God." 

Maiil'av'i  Muham'mad  A'lim's  native  town,  Arang'abad',  is 
walled,  and  has  a  street  running  north  and  south  through  its 
centre,  with  a  large  gate  at  each  end.  At  the  west  side  of  the 
town  is  a  wicket  in  the  wall,  through  which  one  person  at  a 
time  can  go  in  and  out.  A  short  distance  from  the  wicket, 
outside  of  the  city  wall,  are  a  number  of  shops,  and  near  them 
a  caravansary. 

One  night  Muham'mad  A'lim  dreamed  that  he  wished  to 
go  out  at  the  north  gate,  but  a  pack  of  angry  dogs  stood  be- 


408  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

tween  him  and  the  gate,  and  opposed  his  exit.  In  his  dream 
he  said :  "  I  will  turn  and  go  to  the  south  gate,  which  will 
answer  my  purpose  just  as  well;  for  why  should  I  contend 
with  these  dogs,  and  make  myself  another  dog  like  one  of 
them  ?  "  When  he  reached  the  south  gate,  the  same  pack  of 
fierce  dogs  confronted  him,  and  again  prevented  his  passing 
out.  After  a  week  he  dreamed  the  same  thing  again  without 
any  variation;  and  at  the  end  of  the  third  week  his  dream  was 
repeated  in  all  particulars  exactly  as  before,  with  this  addition, 
that  he  now  remembered  the  wicket  in  the  west  wall,  through 
which  he  passed  without  difficulty. 

Another  seven  days  having  passed  around,  he  dreamed 
again  as  follows :  At  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  in  front  of 
the  shops  near  the  wicket,  was  a  crowd  of  men,  in  the  midst 
of  whom  stood  a  man,  preaching  to  them  the  word  of  God. 
The  dreamer,  drawing  near,  took  his  place  among  the  rest  to 
listen,  and  was  delighted  with  the  words  of  the  preacher,  but 
much  grieved  to  hear  all  the  other  listeners  bitterly  opposing 
him,  upon  which  he  remonstrated  with  them,  saying:  "Why 
do  you  thus  speak  evil  of  the  preacher?  Do  not  so,  I  beseech 
you ;  all  the  words  which  he  utters  are  good  and  true." 

In  this  dream  the  appearance  of  the  preacher  was  very  dis- 
tinctly impressed  upon  the  maul'avTs  memory — his  portly  per- 
son, his  gray  beard,  his  cliap'kan  (coat)  of  peculiar  cut,  button- 
ing neither  at  the  right  nor  left  like  those  of  Hindus  and  Mu- 
hammadans,  but  in  front,  were  all  so  vividly  depicted  in  the 
dream,  and  seemed  so  like  reality,  that  the  majd'avi,  on  awak- 
ing and  finding  that  it  was  two  o'clock  in  the  night,  hastened 
.at  once  to  the  spot,  but  was  sadly  disappointed  in  finding  noth- 
iing  there  which  corresponded  with  his  dream. 

A  week  later  he  dreamed  again,  seeing  the  crowd  and  the 

-^same  preacher  in  their  midst,  with   all  the  circumstances  of 

itime  and  place  precisely  as  he  had  seen  them  the  week  before. 

This  dream,  after  the  lapse  of  another  week,  was  repeated  for 

;  the  third  time  without  any  change. 

Now,,  according  to  "  Buzurgon  ke  KaiiV  (the  traditions  of 


CONVERSION    OF    MUHAM^MAD   ALIM.  4O9 

the  [Muhammadan]  elders),  a  dream  which  is  repeated  three 
times  without  variation,  can  be  relied  upon  as  proceeding,  not 
from  Satan  or  any  other  evil  spirit,  but  from  God;  accord- 
ingly Muham'mad  A'lim  confidently  believed  that  these  two 
dreams,  three  times  repeated,  were  from  God. 

About  a  month  after  the  last  dream,  Muham'mad  A'lim, 
who  felt  intensely  interested,  and  noted  carefully  every  partic- 
ular, was  passing  out  at  the  wicket  a  little  before  four  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  when,  behold!  to  his  inexpressible  joy,  there, 
in  front  of  the  shops,  stood  the  very  man  of  his  dream,  preach- 
ing the  word  of  God  to  an  assembled  crowd,  which  stood 
about  the  preacher  reviling  him  and  gainsaying  his  words. 

Our  expectant  and  now  overjoyed  seeker,  approached  the 
speaker  with  that  intense  interest  and  profound  reverence 
which  we  may  fancy  we  would  experience  on  approaching  an 
angel  of  God.  Fixing  his  eyes  intently  upon  him,  he  silently 
listened  with  rapt  attention  to  tidings — so  joyful!  and  gazed 
upon  the  countenance — so  winning,  until  the  discourse  was 
ended,  longing  all  the  while  to  hear  the  speaker  address  him 
in  these  words :  "  Til  Klmdd'  ki  rah  ko  hd'sil  kar'nd  chdh'td 
half' — words  which  would  prove  the  preacher  beyond  all 
doubt  to  be  the  hoped-for  messenger  from  God. 

Poor  Muham'mad  A'lim's  heart  sank  within  him  as  he 
gazed  after  the  preacher  walking  silently  away  and  disappear- 
ing within  the  gates  of  the  caravansary.  But  having  received 
the  first  and  second  signs  precisely  as  he  had  sought  them 
from  God  in  prayer,  he  was  not  altogether  hopeless,  and  said 
to  himself:  "  I  will  now  wait  and  see,  perhaps  this  person  may 
yet  prove  himself  to  be  God's  messenger;  and  I  will  afford  him 
the  opportunity,  not  by  addressing  him,  but  by  placing  myself 
in  the  way,  that  he  may  of  his  own  accord  speak  first  to  me, 
according  to  the  words  of  my  petition."  So  saying,  he  went 
to  his  field  near  by,  and  plucked  a  bunch  of  millet;  then  walk- 
ing into  the  caravansary,  he  quietly  presented  it  to  one  of  the 
preacher's  children,  after  which,  without  raising  his  eyes  or 
uttering  a  word,  he  immediately  retired  to  his  millet  field  and 


4IO  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

sat  down  to  guard  it  from  birds  and  thieves,  whilst  awaiting 
the  result. 

In  a  few  minutes  the  preacher,  the  Rev.  E.  P.  Swift,  followed 
Muham'mad  A'lim,  and  standing  by  his 'side,  gave  him  a 
friendly  salutation,  and  asked  who  he  was, 

Muham'mad  A'lim  replied  that  he  was  a  Pa' oil  (an  illiterate 
man  of  mean  condition).  His  motive  in  calling  himself  a 
Pa' oil  was  to  discover  the  stranger's  real  character,  for  he  be- 
lieved that  one  who  was  a  true  man  of  God  would  be  drawn 
to  him  by  his  thus  assuming  to  be  a  poor  ignorant  man,  rather 
than  a  man  of  position  and  learning, 

"Are  you  not  an  educated  man?"  inquired  Mr,  Swift. 

"  By  no  means,"  replied  Muham'mad  A'lim. 

"  Have  you  ever  seen  the  Bible?"  continued  Mr,  Swift. 

"  I  do  not  even  know  the  meaning  of  the  word,"  responded 
Muham'mad  A'lim,  not  in  this  instance  feigning  ignorance, 
but  meaning  just  what  he  said. 

"  The  Bible,"  explained  Mr.  Swift,  "  is  the  word  of  God,  and 
is  the  book  which  your  Koran  describes  in  its  four  parts  as 
the  Tanrdt' ,  Zabur' ,  Nablon  ke  sahi'fe,  and  Injll' ,  and  which  is 
also  declared  by  the  Koran  to  be  God's  word," 

"That  book,"  objected  Muham'mad  A'lim,  "was  taken  up 
to  heaven  ages  ago,  and  how  can  it  possibly  be  in  your  pos- 
session?" 

"Entirely  a  false  representation,  that,"  said  Swift;  "I  have 
a  copy  of  it  in  my  own  possession,  and  if  you  wish,  you  can 
see  it  for  yourself" 

Mr,  Swift  had  easily  perceived,  in  the  course  of  this  conver- 
sation, that  Muham'mad  A'lim  was  no  Pd'oll,  but  a  man  of 
learning.  He  went,  therefore,  into  the  caravansary,  and 
brought  out  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament — not  in  Muham'- 
mad A'lim's  native  tongue,  but  in  the  Persian  language,  which 
he  rightly  judged  that,  though  calling  himself  a  Pd'oll,  he  could 
read,  and  handing  it  to  him,  left  him  to  peruse  it  at  his  leisure, 

Muham'mad  A'lim  had  not  read  very  far  before  the  fre- 
quently repeated  expression,  "  Verily  I  say"  which  is  so  often 


CONVERSION    OF    MUHAM'mAD    ALIM.  4II 

used  by  our  Lord,  arrested  his  attention.  "Who  is  this,"  said 
our  maul'av'i,  "  who  constantly  uses  this  language  with  such 
an  assumption  of  authority,  and  with  such  marvelous  power? 
A  mere  prophet  could  only  say,  '  Thus  saith  the  Lord ; '  and 
should  he  presume  to  speak  his  own  word,  he  would  be  pow- 
erless to  execute  it.  But  Jesus  not  only  says,  '  Verily,  verily 
I  say  unto  you,  he  that  believeth  on  me  hath  everlasting  life ; ' 
but  he  speaks  to  the  sick,  who  are  healed  instantly;  to  devils, 
and  they  depart  trembling;  to  the  dead,  and  they  awake  at  his 
command.  What  he  says,  therefore,  must  be  the  word  of 
God,  and  he  who  thus  speaks  must  himself  be  God." 

As  the  light  of  God's  word  entered  Muham'mad  A'lim's  be- 
nighted soul,  the  change  which  he  underwent  was  truly  marvel- 
ous. No  longer  sitting  silent,  disconsolate  and  almost  despair- 
ing, he  clasped  the  little  book  in  his  hand,  and  sallied  forth  into 
the  streets  and  into  the  very  mosques  as  bold  as  a  lion,  preach- 
ing Jesus,  not  to  the  common  people  only,  but  to  his  com- 
peers— the  learned  viaid'avs' ,  who,  gathering  about  him  from 
every  quarter,  confronted  him  with  the  fierceness  of  the  tiger 
and  the  venom  of  the  deadly  cobra. 

"  Behold! "  he  cried,  "how  the  whole  world  is  fallen  into 
error!  You  assert  that  the  Inj'il'  (the  New  Testament  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ)  was  lOng  since  taken  up  into  heaven ;  but 
here  it  is !  I  hold  it  in  my  hand.  Our  Koran  testifies  that 
this  is  God's  word;  and  at  the  same  time  it  has  perverted  and 
misinterpreted  it,  as  though  Jesus  did  miracles  only  by  God's 
command,  like  any  mere  prophet.  AH  lies!  When  Jesus  said 
to  the  widow's  dead  son,  '  I  say  unto  thee,  arise,'  the  youth  sat 
up  on  his  bier  and  began  to  speak.  When  he  commanded  the 
decaying  corpse  of  Lazarus  to  come  forth,  the  dead  body 
obeyed  the  summons  and  came  forth,  bound  hand  and  foot 
with  grave  clothes." 

The  maul' avis  about  Jh'ilam  called  their  learned  men  from 
afar  to  debate  with  Muham'mad  A'lim,  no  one  of  whom  was 
able  to  silence  him.  When  objections  were  raised  by  his  ad- 
versaries which  he  was  unable  to  meet,  he  said  to  the  object- 


412  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

ors:  "Here  is  the  Pa'dri  Sa'hib  (Mr.  Swift);  come  along  to 
him,  and  he  will  give  you  an  answer."  In  this  way  the  golden 
opportunity  was  afforded  Mr.  Swift  for  preaching  the  gospel 
to  men  from  villages  far  and  near  in  the  district  of  Jh'ilam. 

All  men,  young  and  old,  learned  and  ignorant,  and  of  every 
creed,  marveled  at  the  astonishing  change  in  Muham'mad 
A'lim.  Even  little  children  remarked  that  he  no  longer  spoke 
crooked  and  deceitful  words  as  he  used  to  do,  but  "  sid'hi,  saf, 
aur  sack  bat"  (simple,  clear,  and  true  words) ;  and  when  the 
wise  and  learned  beheld  the  fearlessness  and  energy,  and  heard 
the  living,  burning  words  of  him  who  a  little  before  had  sat 
mute,  they  exclaimed :  "  This  is  not  Muham'mad  A'lim  himself 
that  speaks;  some  other  being  has  entered  into  him,  and  is 
now  uttering  these  words." 

A  few  weeks  after  the  conversion  of  the  maid'av'i,  Mr.  Swift 
said  to  him :  "  It  is  fitting  that  you  should  now  receive  the  or- 
dinance of  Christian  baptism." 

'*  What  is  baptism  ?  "  inquired  the  new  convert.  Whereupon 
Mr.  Swift  explained  to  him  the  nature  and  design  of  this  ordi- 
nance, and  the  necessity  of  its  observance  in  obedience  to  the 
command  of  Christ. 

The  Muhammadans  about  Jh'ilam^  as  elswhere,  absurdly  be- 
lieved converts  to  the  Christian  religion  to  be  initiated  into 
the  new  faith  by  being  sprinkled  with  swine's  blood,  and  forced 
to  eat  the  flesh  of  that  unclean  animal — so  very  unclean  that 
they  refuse  so  much  as  even  to  utter  its  name.  To  enlighten 
them  in  regard  to  this  matter,  and  at  the  same  time  make  his 
confession  of  Christ  public,  Muham'mad  A'lim  invited  many 
maid' avis  and  other  former  acquaintances  to  be  present  at  the 
solemn  ceremony,  saying:  "  I  propose  to  forsake  the  Muham- 
madan  religion,  and  become  a  Christian ;  if  you  can  show  me 
a  better  way  of  salvation,  now  is  your  time." 

These  men  had  already  exhausted  their  resources  in  the 
way  of  argument  in  their  recent  discussions  with  Muham'mad 
A'lim,  the  excitement  having  run  high  and  extended  far  and 
wide.     As  to  argument,  therefore,  they  were  silent,  even  con- 


WORK    BEGUN    IN   JHI  LAM.  413 

ceding  him  to  be  right,  and  feehng  convinced  that  the  truth 
he  proclaimed  and  the  course  he  was  taking  were  unassailable. 
Many  of  them  went  so  far  as  to  admit  that  he  was  right,  and 
that  they  themselves  were  the  '' kd'firs."  "But  oh,"  said  they, 
"  do  not  become  a  Christian !  Save  us  from  this  intolerable 
disgrace!" 

The  time  and  place  for  his  baptism  being  fixed,  one  day  in 
November,  1873,  a  great  multitude  of  people  assembled  in 
front  of  the  caravansary,  curious  to  witness  the  ceremony,  A 
large  proportion  of  the  spectators  were  angry  Muhammadans, 
who,  gnashing  their  teeth,  and  threatening  Mr.  Swift  with 
death,  caused  his  wife  and  children  to  tremble  with  fear.  Mr. 
Swift  raised  his  voice  suitably  to  the  extent  of  his  large  open- 
air  congregation,  and,  after  conducting  appropriate  religious 
exercises,  and  receiving  Muham'mad  A'lim's  hearty  response 
to  the  usual  questions,  administered  to  him  the  ordinance  of 
Christian  baptism. 

When  the  indignant  concourse  had  listened  understandingly 
to  the  questions  and  answers,  and  had  witnessed  the  simple 
but  significant  ceremony,  they  could  say  nothing  against  them. 
The  simplicity  of  the  rite,  and  the  solemnity  of  the  occasion,  so 
very  different  from  the  scene  they  had  imagined,  of  sprinkling 
hog's  blood  upon  the  convert,  and  forcing  pork  down  his  throat, 
appeared  to  disarm  them ;  and  they  quietly  dispersed  as  soon 
as  it  was  over,  cherishing  nevertheless  the  bitterest  enmity  in 
their  hearts. 

A  few  days  after  Muham'mad  A'Um's  baptism,  Mr.  Swift 
preached  at  a  village  a  mile  south  of  Arang'abad',  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Jhi'lam  river.  The  people  of  that  village  were 
rope-makers.  The  head  man,  who  was  twisting  a  rope,  and 
quietly  listening  at  the  same  time,  suddenly  left  his  work,  and 
drawing  near,  interrupted  Mr,  Swift  in  the  midst  of  his  dis- 
course, saying  rudely:  "Be  off!  Preach  here  no  more,  or  I 
will  cause  your  head  to  be  cut  off!" 

Swift  paid  no  attention,  merely  remarking:  ''  AcJidid  bhat" 
(all  right,  brother),  and  then  continuing  his  discourse,  whilst 


414  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

his  antagonist  retired  for  a  time  to  go  on  with  his  work. 
When  the  sermon  was  ended,  this  Lmitbardar  returned  to  the 
preacher,  and  proudly  straightening  himself  up  to  the  full 
height  of  his  stature,  clenched  his  fists,  and  said:  ^'  I  am  a  man 
of  my  word,  and  I  tell  you  that  if  ever  you  come  to  this  village 
again,  your  head  will  surely  be  taken  off.  I  care  nothing  for 
the  English  Governtnent.  They  will  probably  hang  me  for  it. 
Let  them !  I  will  at  least  have  the  honor  of  killing  a  kdfir 
pa'drir 

Mr.  Swift  very  appropriately  responded  to  this  forcible  ad- 
dress as  follows:  "  I  have  brought  you  the  good  tidings  of  sal- 
vation, brother;  but  if  you  do  not  want  it,  I  will  not  force  it 
upon  you."     His  visit  to  that  village  was  not  repeated. 

Mr.  Swift,  continuing  after  this  to  preach  in  the  streets  of 
Arang'abad'  and  Jhi'lam,  was  on  several  occasions  threatened 
with  violence.  One  day  while  he  was  preaching,  a  mounted 
Sepoy  stopped  to  listen,  and  interrupted  him  by  saying:  "I 
cannot  endure  to  hear  you  say  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of 
God ;  it  makes  my  blood  to  boil."  Then  grasping  his  sword, 
he  added:  "I  would  take  off  your  head  just  now,  but  I  dare 
not,  for  I  am  a  servant  of  the  English  Government." 

Mr.  Swift  smiled,  and  said:  "Suppose  you  should  really  do 
what  you  now  wish  to  do,  what  would  it  profit  you?  half  a 
dozen  more  pd'dris  would  immediately  rise  up  to  preach  in 
my  place,  and  instead  of  accomplishing  anything,  you  would 
only  make  matters  worse." 

Two  months  later  a  policeman,  hearing  so  much  of  this 
threatening  talk  against  the  preacher,  and  observing  that  it 
was  meekly  borne,  became  emboldened,  and  seizing  Mr.  Swift 
by  the  arm  as  he  preached  in  the  street,  drew  him  forth  out  of 
the  town,  and  bade  him  begone. 

Mr.  Swift  turned  and  rebuked  him:  "Other  men  may  thus 
act  and  speak,  but  jt7«  must  not;  you  are  a  policeman,  and  are 
paid  by  the  government  to  protect  men.  Rest  assured,  you 
shall  smart  for  what  you  have  now  done." 

"Hold  your  tongue!"  said  the  excited  policeman,  "and 
leave  this  town,  or  I  will  kick  you  out!" 


WORK    BEGUN    IN   JHIXAM.  415 

Mr,  Swift  reported  the  affair  to  the  poHceman's  superior 
officer,  who,  although  a  native  and  a  non-Christian,  called  to- 
gether all  the  policemen  of  the  city,  and  reprimanded  the 
offender  before  them.  Henceforward  this  violent  opposition 
ceased  in  Jhi'lam  and  its  vicinity.  Brother  Swift  continued  to 
labor  in  connection  with  this  new  mission  station  for  about 
three  years,  after  which  he  removed  to  Gujranwa'la,  there  to 
pass  the  rest  of  his  days  in  missionary  work,  the  Rev.  T.  L. 
Scott,  as  already  stated,  taking  up  the  work  in  Jhi'lam  early 
in  the  year  1876. 


CHAPTER    XXX. 


REINFORCEMENTS. 


MISS  C.  E.  WILSON,  MISS  LIZZIE  McCAHON,  AND  MISS  ROSA  A.  McCULLOUGH. 

FOLLOWING  the  order  of  time — not  arbitrarily  and  rigidly, 
but  as  closely  as  we  find  practicable  without  too  much  in- 
terruption of  our  narrative,  I  now  have  the  pleasure  of  intro- 
ducing two  young  ladies  who  joined  our  mission  band  at  the 
beginning,  and  one  at  the  middle  of  the  third  decade — a  period 
characterized  by  more  liberal  reinforcements,  rendering  possi- 
ble more  thorough  organization  and  division  of  labor,  and 
resulting  in  abundant  and  joyous  ingatherings. 

Miss  Cynthia  Ellen  Wilson,  the  fourth  child  of  James  X. 
and  Martha  E.  Wilson,  was  born  the  27th  of  March,  1850,  near 
Morning  Sun,  Louisa  county,  Iowa.  Cynthia  being  both  sickly 
and  puny  in  infancy,  the  neighbors  often  greeted  her  mother 
with  the  unpleasant  prediction  :  "  You  will  never  be  able  to 
raise  that  child."  But  afterwards,  when  to  their  astonishment 
they  saw  the  little  one  growing  and  thriving,  they  changed  their 
prophecy,  and  said  to  the  happy  mother:  "God  must  surely 
have  some  good  work  for  her  to  do,  for  which  he  has  so  mirac- 
ulously preserved  her  life." 

Her  first  school  days  were  spent  at  the  lonely  old  log  school- 
house  in  the  woods — a  long,  dreary  mile  and  a  half  from  home 
— whither,  after  being  carried  by  her  father  across  the  danger- 
ous creek  on  the  narrow  foot-log,  she  daily  tripped  along,  all 
the  more  nimbly  that  she  was  constantly  in  dread  of  the  snakes 
and  wolves  with  which  the  country  was  infested.  The  first 
grief  which  oppressed  her  childish  heart  arose  from  having  to 
stand  alone  upon  the  floor  of  the  school-room,  as  a  punishment 
for  looking  off  her  book.     In  this  there  was  little,  indeed,  that 

(416) 


MISS  CYNTHIA    E.  WILSON. 


MISS   ELIZABETH   MXAHON. 


•REINFORCEMENTS.  417 

could  give  her  a  love  for  that  work  which  thus  far  has  been 
the  great  work  of  her  life ;  but  better  days  were  in  store. 

The  gloomy  old  log  school-house  was  happily  burnt  down, 
and  a  better  one  built  nearer  home.  Here  the  cool,  refreshing 
spring  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  the  open  grassy  lawn,  upon  which 
she  played  with  pleasant  companions,  the  stately  oaks,  beneath 
which  she  built  play-houses,  garnishing  them  with  fragrant 
prairie  flowers  and  beautiful  moss  carpets,  and  the  hickory 
saplings,  upon  which  she  swung  as  she  dreamed  of  coming 
womanhood — all  combined  to  make  life's  pathway  joyous  and 
hopeful,  and  stored  up  many  a  pleasant  memory  to  cheer  the 
future  missionary  in  a  heathen  land. 

Uniting  with  the  church  under  the  ministry  of  the  Rev.  Wil- 
liam Lorimer,  at  the  age  of  fifteen,  and  early  forming  the  pur- 
pose of  becoming,  a  missionary,  she  succeeded  in  the  face  of 
many  difficulties  in  obtaining  an  education  —  graduating  at 
Monmouth  College  in  June,  1873. 

From  her  early  years  the  accounts  she  read  of  the  condition 
of  the  heathen  had  excited  her  tenderest  sympathies,  especially 
the  stories  of  the  little  babes  destroyed  by  their  heathen  moth- 
ers. But  that  which  led  her  decidedly  and  finally  to  resolve 
upon  devoting  her  life  to  the  work  of  Foreign  Missions  was  the 
pointed  question  put  by  the  Rev.  John  Hogg,  D.  D.,  of  our 
Egypt  mission,  on  the  occasion  of  his  addressing  the  students 
of  Monmouth  College,  when  visiting  America:  "  Have  you  a 
call  to  stay  at  homef  " 

Offering  herself  for  Foreign  Mission  work,  she  received  an 
appointment  to  India  in  the  autumn  of  1874,  but  was  prevented 
from  going  that  year  by  ill  health,  and  the  tardiness  with  which 
her  near  relatives  gave  their  consent  to  her  departure.  Dr.  J.  R. 
Campbell's  book  on  Missions  in  Hindustan  was  placed  in  her 
hands  by  her  father,  in  the  hope  that  on  learning  of  the  trials 
of  mission  life  therein  depicted  she  would  be  deterred  from  go- 
ing; but  instead  of  this  her  desire  to  go,  and  the  conviction 
that  this  was  her  duty,  were  strengthened. 

Leaving  her  home  in  Morning  Sun  on  the  13th  of  Septem- 
27 


41 8  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

ber,  1875,  accompanied  a  portion  of  the  way  by  her  father  and 
brother,  she  went  to  Philadelphia  to  take  passage  for  India  in 
company  with  other  missionaries. 

Miss  Elizabeth  McCahon,  the  sixth  and  youngest  child  of 
John  and  Sarah  McCahon,  was  born  at  Canonsburg,  Wash- 
ington county.  Pa.,  on  the  9th  of  June,  1850.  On  the  7th  of 
January,  1865,  she  made  a  public  profession  of  her  faith,  and 
united  with  the  Canonsburg  congregation,  under  the  pastorate 
of  the  Rev.  J.  W.  Bain. 

Her  course  of  literary  training  was  begun  in  the  public 
schools,  and  continued  in  the  academy  of  her  native  town, 
after  which  she  devoted  one  year  in  the  vicinity  of  Canons- 
burg to  teaching  school. 

In  the  year  1870  Miss  McCahon  joined  the  Chartiers  con- 
gregation, of  which  the  late  Rev.  D.  M.  B.  McLean  was  pas- 
tor. In  Mr.  McLean's  church  a  missionary  convention  was 
held  in  August,  1875,  at  which  were  present  two  members  of 
our  Board  of  Foreign  Missions.  These  brethren,  on  hearing 
that  Miss  McCahon  had  for  some  considerable  time  cherished 
the  desire  to  devote  her  life  to  mission  work  in  a  heathen  land, 
brought  her  name  before  the  Board,  the  result  of  which  was 
her  appointment  to  our  India  Mission  the  following  month. 

In  the  American  Line  steamer  OJiio,  Miss  Wilson  and  Miss 
McCahon  sailed  from  Philadelphia  on  the  7th  of  October, 
1875,  in  company  with  Revs.  J.  S.  Barr  and  A.  Gordon  and 
their  families,  then  returning  to  India — a  missionary  company 
in  all,  children  included,  of  twelve  persons.  Re-embarking 
from  London  in  the  steamship  Tartar,  on  the  3d  of  November, 
we  reached  Bombay  on  the  4th,  and  Gujranwa'la  on  the  loth 
of  December,  1875. 

Miss  Rosanna  Adaline  McCullough,  the  second  of  the  ten 
children — four  sons  and  six  daughters — of  Francis  T.  and 
Nancy  J.  McCullough,  was  born  in  Adams  county,  Ohio,  on 
the  15th  of  February,  1850,  and  for  several  years  was  a  sickly 
child.  Her  desire  for  an  education  began  early,  the  alphabet 
being  learned,  most  probably,  from  an  old  almanac,  given  her 


REINFORCEMENTS.  4I9 

to  play  with.  Her  desire  to  be  a  missionary  was  first  awak- 
ened by  reading,  in  the  Child's  Paper,  letters  from  Miss  Dales, 
of  our  Egypt  mission,  whose  portrait  she  cut  out  and  pre- 
served for  many  years  as  a  precious  treasure.  Two  pictures 
in  a  familiar  book  early  produced  a  profound  impression :  the 
one  representing  a  group  of  missionaries  in  a  foreign  land, 
with  rays  of  light  streaming  down  upon  them  from  heaven; 
the  other,  a  missionary  preaching  to  a  number  of  heathen 
gathered  under  a  tree — these  missionaries  enjoying,  as  she  be- 
lieved, and  desired  herself  to  enjoy,  God's  fatherly  care  and 
special  favor. 

At  a  family  gathering,  where  the  conversation  turned  upon 
the  future  of  the  children,  every  one  telling  what  he  or  she 
intended  to  be,  Rosa  said :  "  I  intend  to  be  a  foreign  mission- 
ary." 

Her  Aunt  Mary,  laughing  outright  at  this  childish  speech, 
said:  "That  is  really  the  best  joke  yet,"  others  also  joining  in 
the  laugh  until  Rosa's  anger  was  fairly  aroused. 

" Very  well,"  said  Rosa,  "I  will  show  you,  and  you  shall 
see  that  I  will  be  a  foreign  missionary." 

As  the  years  passed,  and  she  learned  more  of  the  sad  con- 
dition of  her  poor  heathen  sisters,  the  desire  to  be  a  mission- 
ary grew.  But  her  parents,  unable  to  give  more  than  a  com- 
mon education  to  all  the  children,  and  unwilling  to  make  a 
special  exception  in  her  favor,  could  afford  her  little  hope  of 
the  needful  training,  which  caused  her  much  grief  of  heart. 

One  day  the  Sabbath-school  lesson  being  about  the  mission 
of  Moses  into  Egypt,  the  teacher  remarked  that  whenever  God 
had  a  work  for  any  one,  he  fitted  that  one  for  it,  as  he  did  in 
the  case  of  Moses.  This  remark  brought  comfort  to  her 
troubled  mind,  and  led  her  to  resolve  to  content  herself  with 
present  duty,  trusting  that  if  God  intended  her  for  the  work  of 
her  choice,  he  would  open  up  the  way  for  her  to  qualify  her- 
self for  it;  and  so  she  was  enabled  to  set  her  mind  at  rest. 

When  approaching  the  age  of  fourteen,  she  experienced 
distinctly  a  change  from  a  feeling  of  indifference  to  that  of 


420  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

love  for  everything  pertaining  to  Jesus  Christ,  soon  after  which 
she  professed  her  faith  in  her  Saviour,  and  became  a  member 
of  Unity  congregation,  Adams  county,  Ohio. 

In  November,  1867,  the  Lord  prepared  for  her  a  temporary 
home  with  Mrs.  Spickler,  of  Dayton,  Ohio,  where  she  pursued 
her  studies,  enjoying  at  the  same  time  the  pastoral  care  of  the 
Rev.  R.  Stewart  and  others,  until  her  father  moved  to  Green- 
wood, Mo.  Here  she  alternately  taught,  and  studied  in  Lin- 
coln College,  greatly  encouraged  and  assisted  by  the  Rev.  M. 
M.  Brown  and  Mrs.  Brown,  at  a  time  when  affliction  befel  her 
father's  family,  and  was  graduated  on  the  13th  of  June,  1875. 

The  years  1876-78  were  spent  by  her  in  teaching  school  in 
Henderson  and  McDonough  counties,  Ills.,  after  which  she 
was  appointed  to  our  India  Mission.  Then  followed  a  visit  to 
her  friends  in  Missouri,  Ohio,  and  Pennsylvania,  and  her  jour- 
ney to  Philadelphia,  whence  she  sailed  for  India  via  England 
and  the  Mediterranean,  on  the  7th  of  November,  in  company 
with  the  Rev.  S.  Martin  and  family,  then  returning  to  India, 
reaching  Bombay  on  the  22d  of  December,  1879,  and  Gujran- 
wa'la  on  the  ist  of  January,  1880. 


MISS    ROSA  A.  McCULLOUGH. 


CHAPTER   XXXI. 

RELIGIOUS  MOVEMENTS  AMONG  THE  CHUH'rAS. 

IN  a  village  two  miles  west  of  Mira'Ii,  in  the  Zafarwal'  mis- 
sion district,  there  lived  a  Hindu  of  the  Jlit  caste,  whose 
name  was  Nat'tu.  On  hearing  the  gospel  preached  Nat'tu 
believed,  and  was  subsequently  baptized  by  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Barr, 
on  the  17th  of  November,  1872.  Being  not  only  a  man  of 
good  caste,  but  the  son  of  the  head-man  of  his  village,  and 
legal  heir  to  his  father's  land  and  official  position,  he  had 
very  fair  worldly  prospects. 

One  of  the  great  difficulties  in  the  way  of  Christians  sup- 
porting themselves  in  their  native  villages,  in  the  presence  of 
their  enemies,  was  their  poverty.  Owning  no  land,  they  were 
dependent  for  work  upon  their  heathen  neighbors,  who  could 
at  any  time  deprive  them  of  the  means  of  living.  But  Nat'tu 
being  the  owner  of  land  and  a  Lambarddr,  could  supply  other 
converts  with  work  and  the  means  of  subsistence,  and  inde- 
p^dently  of  the  heathen  build  up  a  Christian  community 
around  himself,  and  so  perform  a  most  valuable  service  to  the 
native  church.  But  in  this  respect  he  proved  a  failure.  Not 
appreciating  his  golden  opportunity  for  usefulness,  he  squan- 
dered his  property  and  forfeited  his  right  to  the  position  of 
Lambarddr.  The  missionaries  did  their  best  to  uphold  him, 
but  all  in  vain;  he  became  reduced  almost  to  the  condition  of 
a  pauper,  and  proved  himself  in  every  sense  a  weak  brother. 
He  was  "  first,"  but  "  last."  Yet  he  must  not  be  recorded 
as  altogether  a  failure;  as  to  his  Christian  profession,  one  who 
has  long  had  the  spiritual  oversight  of  him  testifies  that  he 
has  ever  been  constant  and  faithful ;  and  he  did  a  work  which 
many  of  the    great   and   apparently  successful    men    in   the 

(421) 


422  OUR    INDIA   MISSION. 

churches  fail  to  accomplish — like  Andrew,  and  like  Philip,  he 
led  one  of  his  neighbors  to  the  Saviour. 

In  a  village  three  miles  southwest  of  Mira'li,  there  lived  a 
man  of  the  low  and  much  despised  CJiuh'r'd  tribe,  by  name 
Ditt,  a  dark  little  man,  lame  of  one  leg,  quiet  and  modest  in 
his  manner,  with  sincerity  and  earnestness  well  expressed  in 
his  face,  and  at  that  time  about  thirty  years  of  age.  The  busi- 
ness by  which  he  earned  a  scant  subsistence  for  himself  and 
family  was  the  buying  up  of  hides  in  the  neighborhood  and 
selling  them  at  a  small  profit  to  dealers.  This  is  the  man 
whom  Nat'tu  was  the  means  of  leading  to  Jesus,  and  who,  ac- 
companied by  Nat'tu,  went  to  Sial'kot  in  June,  1873,  that  he 
might  in  the  appointed  way  confess  his  Saviour  before  men. 

The  Rev.  S.  Martin  felt  some  hesitation  at  first  in  receiving 
a  man  into  the  church  with  whom  he  had  little  acquaintance, 
and  whose  knowledge  was  chiefly  limited  to  what  had  been 
learned  from  the  weak  brother  Nat'tu.  It  was  with  him  a 
question  whether  he  should  not,  before  baptizing  Ditt,  main- 
tain him  for  a  time  in  Sial'kot,  in  order  to  instruct  him  and 
test  his  sincerity.  Our  missionaries  had  uniformly  followed 
this  prudential  course  with  inquirers,  being  occasionally  im- 
posed upon  by  mere  pretended  inquirers,  in  spite  of  their  ut- 
most precautions.  But  Ditt  did  not  wish  to  defer  this  important 
matter.  At  the  same  time  it  could  not  be  denied  that  he  had 
sufficient  knowledge  of  Christ  to  enable  him  to  rest  his  faith 
intelligently  upon  him.  He  seemed  honest  also  in  the  confes- 
sion of  his  faith ;  whilst  Nat'tu  unhesitatingly  vouched  for  his 
strict  integrity.  Mr.  Martin  finally  decided  to  baptize  Ditt, 
not  because  he  saw  his  way  decidedly  clear  to  do  so,  but  rather 
because  he  could  see  no  Scripture  ground  for  refusing. 

No  sooner  was  Ditt  baptized,  than  he  asked  permission  to 
return  at  once  to  his  own  village.  Here  again  Mr.  Martin 
hesitated,  just  as  any  of  the  rest  of  us  would  have  done,  to 
give  his  assent.  Should  not  the  new  convert  remain  a  few 
months,  or  at  least  a  few  weeks,  in  order  to  prove  to  us  the 
sincerity  of  his   Christian  profession?     Did  he    not   need  a 


RELIGIOUS    MOVEMENTS    AMONG   THE    CHUH  RAS.  423 

course  of  instruction  before  going  back  to  live  among  heathen 
opposers  ?  How  could  he,  a  poor  illiterate  man,  answer  their 
arguments?  How  could  he  hold  out  and  stand  firm  in  the 
face  of  opposition?  How  could  he  even  subsist  in  the  midst 
of  persecuting  foes?  A  man  in  Nat'tu's  circumstances  might 
succeed  in  such  a  course,  and  should  have  done  so ;  but  in  the 
case  of  this  lame  little  man,  who  must  earn  his  bread  from 
day  to  day,  such  an  experiment  appeared  unwise.  But  Ditt 
returned,  nevertheless,  immediately  after  his  baptism,  to  dwell 
in  his  native  village  near  Mira'li,  and  pursue  his  humble  call- 
ing. 

At  least  three  years  previous  to  Ditt's  conversion,  it  was  be- 
lieved to  be  practicable  for  Christians,  under  favorable  circum- 
stances, to  reside  in  their  villages  independently  of  missionary 
support,  after  their  conversion.  But  all  attempts  to  induce 
them  to  do  this  had  hitherto  failed.  Nor  were  the  converts 
themselves  alone  responsible  for  these  failures.  We  mission- 
aries, as  previously  stated,  had  always  deemed  it  necessary  to 
gather  converts  about  us,  in  order  to  shield  them  from  perse- 
cution, give  them  regular  instruction,  and  test  their  motives ; 
but  we  overlooked  the  important  fact,  that  in  gathering  them 
around  us  for  these  purposes,  and  assuming  in  one  form  or 
another  the  responsibility  for  their  temporal  support,  we  act- 
ually, though  unconsciously,  placed  before  them  a  worldly 
motive  to  profess  the  religion  of  Christ,  at  the  same  time  per- 
petuating a  usage  burdensome  to  ourselves,  and  injurious  to  the 
cause  of  Christianity. 

Whilst  we,  with  all  our  might  and  main,  were  grappling 
with  the  gigantic  difficulty  of  the  temporal  support  of  native 
converts,  God  raised  up  this  poor  little  illiterate  cripple,  of  a 
base  and  despised  caste,  to  make  the  "  new  departure,"  prac- 
tically solving  one  of  our  most  difficult  problems.  From  that 
time  forward,  every  act  which  might  imply  that  missionaries 
were  responsible  for  the  support  of  converts  began  to  be  stu- 
diously avoided.  From  that  time  also  the  aim  in  dealing  with 
mquirers  was  not  so  much  to  study  their  motives,  as  to  satisfy 


424  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

ourselves  that  they  knew  Christ  and  beheved  on  him.  There 
always  have  been,  and  always  will  be,  some  in  all  countries 
who  make  a  profession  of  the  Christian  religion  from  improper 
motives;  and  doubtless  the  best  prevention  of  such  hollow 
professions  is  to  present  to  sinners  Jesus  Christ  and  him  cruci- 
fied, to  the  exclusion  of  every  other  attraction. 

Ditt  had  five  brothers,  who,  with  their  families,  numbering 
about  sixty  persons,  all  lived  in  MiraTi  and  adjacent  villages ; 
his  personal  acquaintances  also,  beyond  the  circle  of  his  rela- 
tives, being  numerous  in  that  region.  As  he  went  about 
among  them  from  village  to  village,  while  attending  to  his  bus- 
iness, he  not  only  let  it  be  known  that  he  was  a  Christian,  but 
also  invited  his  friends  and  neighbors  to  come  and  believe  with 
him  upon  his  newly-found  Saviour. 

His  own  relatives,  according  to  the  Scriptures,  were  first 
and  fiercest  in  manifesting  their  resentment.  Banding  against 
him,  they  held  indignation  meetings,  some  saying  ironically: 

"Oh  ho!  you  have  become  a.  Sd' kid"  (gentleman);  others: 
"You  have  become  a  be-'i-mdn"  (one  without  religion).  His 
sister-in-law  assailed  him  with:  "Alas,  my  brother!  you  have 
changed  your  religion  without  even  asking  our  counsel;  our 
relationship  with  you  is  at  an  end.  Henceforward  you  shall 
neither  eat,  drink,  nor  in  any  way  associate  with  us.  One  of 
your  legs  is  broken  already;  so  may  it  be  with  the  other!" 

To  these  jeers  and  reproaches  showered  upon  our  humble 
convert  by  the  whole  circle  of  his  relatives,  he  meekly  but 
stoutly  replied:  "Very  well,  my  brethren,  if  it  pleases  you, 
you  may  oppose  me  and  load  me  with  reproaches  and  abuse ; 
but  your  opposition  will  never  induce  me  to  deny  Christ." 

In  August,  1873,  some  three  months  after  Ditt  had  made  a 
public  profession  of  his  faith,  he  enjoyed  the  great  pleasure  of 
seeing  his  wife  and  daughter,  and  two  of  his  near  neighbors, 
turn,  on  his  invitation,  to  Jesus  as  their  only  Saviour;  and 
after  instructing  them  to  the  extent  of  his  ability,  he,  notwith- 
standing his  lameness,  joyously  accompanied  them  on  foot  to 
Sial'kot,  a  distance  of  full  thirty  miles,  for  the  sole  purpose  of 


RELIGIOUS    MOVEMENTS   AMONG   THE    CHUH'RAS.  425 

introducing  them  to  the  missionaries.  Mr.  Martin,  after  satis- 
fying himself  as  to  their  knowledge  of  Christ,  their  faith  in 
him  as  their  Saviour,  and  their  purpose  to  obey  his  commands, 
baptized  them,  after  which,  following  the  example  of  Ditt,  they 
immediately  returned  to  their  village  homes. 

In  February,  1874,  this  diligent  and  successful  evangelist, 
by  no  means  limiting  his  labors  to  his  kindred,  but  widely  ex- 
tending his  influence,  escorted  to  Sial'kot  as  trophies  four 
more  men  from  his  neighborhood,  who,  in  like  manner,  being 
received  into  the  church,  returned  immediately  to  their  villages. 
One  of  these,  Ka'ka  by  name,  a  resident  of  Mira'li,  and  the  first 
male  convert  from  among  Ditt's  own  relatives,  heartily  joined 
his  active  friend  in  aggressive  work,  publishing  among  his 
idolatrous  neighbors  the  glad  tidings  of  a  Saviour  for  lost 
sinners. 

From  this  small  beginning  in  the  neighborhood  of  MiraTi, 
in  i873-'74,  and  from  like  beginnings  elsewhere,  which  re- 
main yet  to  be  described,  the  glorious  gospel  spread  steadily 
from  house  to  house  and  from  village  to  village,  new  converts 
as  they  joined  the  Christian  ranks  uniting  with  the  old  in  tell- 
ing the  glad  tidings  of  a  Saviour  of  sinners,  Friend  of  the  poor, 
and  inviting  their  heathen  neighbors  to  '' co7ne,"  until  the 
movement  embraced  within  its  benign  and  saving  influence 
scores  of  villages  and  hundreds  of  families.  Year  after  year 
the  joyful  sound  echoed  and  reechoed  over  the  moral  desert, 
and  the  religious  wave  rolled  onward,  increasing  in  volume 
and  force  as  it  advanced.  At  our  annual  mission  meeting, 
held  in  Jh'i'lam  at  the  beginning  of  1884,  as  the  brethren 
brought  forward  their  reports  from  their  respective  mission 
districts,  of  twenties  and  fifties  and  hundreds  gathered  into  the 
church,  to  the  aggregate  number  of  more  than  five  hundred 
souls,  by  which  the  membership  was  nearly  doubled  in  a  sin- 
gle year,  our  hearts  were  filled  with  great  joy  and  moved  with 
profound  gratitude;  and  again  at  our  meeting  in  Gurdas'pur, 
January,  1885,  when,  with  the  report  of  full  greater  accessions, 
we  listened  to  the  detailed  accounts  of  the  great  religious  move- 


426  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

ment,  with  its  widespread  spirit  of  earnest  inquiry  and  its 
leaven-like  operation  pervading  the  mass — widening,  deepening 
and  surging,  independently  of  our  own  agency — the  solemn 
conviction  forced  itself  upon  us  that  none  other  than  the  Lord 
Christ  himself,  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and 
having  received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 
did  shed  forth  this  which  we  saw  and  heard.  Overwhelmed 
with  awe,  lest  by  unwise  interference  on  our  part  we  should 
stay  the  blessing  by  initiating  some  more  specious  but  merely 
human  work  in  place  of  the  divine,  we  could  but  exclaim: 
^^The  Lord  hath  done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we  are  glad!'* 
and  cry  to  the  Master  for  the  promised  wisdom  and  the  earn- 
est laborers  necessary  for  the  momentous  occasion  ;  and  at  the 
same  time  with  the  prospect  of  yet  greater  increase  in  the 
future,  we  earnestly  besought  our  mother  church  for  large 
reinforcements  to  aid  in  rightly  caring  for  the  Pentecostal 
harvest. 

But  to  continue  the  story  of  our  pioneers  in  the  region  about 
Mira'H:  Through  the  labors  of  Ditt's  companion,  Ka'ka,  two 
boys  belonging  to  separate  families  were  led  to  the  Saviour ; 
and  soon  after,  in  May,  1883,  through  the  instrumentality  of 
these  lads,  their  own  fathers — the  most  violent  opposers  of 
Christianity  in  the  numerous  circle  of  Ditt's  relatives,  and 
about  the  last  to  yield,  surrendered  meekly  and  humbly  to  the 
Lord  Jesus. 

When  Ditt  now  visits  his  people,  as  he  goes  from  place  to 
place  on  his  good  work,  their  love  to  him  and  their  joy  at 
meeting  him  are  as  intense  and  unfeigned  as  were  once  their 
hatred  and  opposition.  He  sometimes  says  to  them  by  way 
of  humorously  reminding  them  of  their  former  selves :  "Are 
you  really  those  self-same  persons  who,  in  former  years,  were 
such  enemies  to  me?"  To  which  they  reply:  "Whatever  we 
did  against  you  then,  we  did  ignorantly  and  foolishly,  not 
knowing  the  excellence  of  the  Christian  religion." 

It  was  observed  early  in  the  history  of  Ditt's  successful 
labors  that  whenever  he  detected  worldly  motives  in  persons 


RELIGIOUS   MOVEMENTS   AMONG  THE   CHUH^RAS.  42/ 

professing  religious  inquiry,  he  refused  to  bring  such  inquirers 
to  the  missionaries.  It  should  be  further  stated  here,  as  an  evi- 
dence of  his  remarkable  disinterestedness,  that  he  never  asked 
for  any  support  from  the  mission.  Many  long  journeys  were 
performed  by  him  on  foot  for  the  love  he  cherished  to  this 
good  work,  which  grew  upon  him  until  at  the  end  of  seven 
years  from  his  conversion  it  was  observed  that  he  had  scarcely 
any  time  left  for  his  own  business,  and  consequently  nothing 
to  live  upon.  Even  then  he  did  not  ask  for  money;  but  six 
or  seven  rupees  a  month,  enough  to  support  him  in  the  hum- 
ble way  these  people  live,  were  given  him  as  his  right,  thus 
enabling  him  to  devote  his  whole  time  to  this  grand — this 
glorious  work. 

As  is  almost  universally  true  of  the  Clmh'ra  caste,  Ditt, 
when  converted  in  1873,  was  unable  either  to  read  or  write; 
nor  was  he  successful  in  his  attempt  to  learn  in  later  years. 
Notwithstanding,  the  Lord  has  fulfilled  to  him,  even  in  this 
life,  the  promise,  "  Them  that  honor  me  I  will  honor."  In 
scores  of  villages  throughout  the  Mira'l'i  region,  when  differ- 
ences arise  between  Christian  brethren,  when  advice  is  needed 
in  regard  to  their  matters  of  business,  when  marriages  are  con- 
templated, and  especially  when  light  is  required  in  regard  to 
matters  of  religion,  the  Christians  trustingly  resort  to  Ditt  as 
their  wise  and  able  counsellor.  And  in  the  life  to  come,  when 
"they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness  [shall  shine]  as  the 
stars  for  ever  and  ever,"  the  low-caste  and  humble  life  of  the 
illiterate  Ditt  will  not  prevent  him  from  eclipsing  many  of  us 
who  have  made  higher  attainments,  and  received  honors  from 
our  fellow-men. 

As  already  intimated,  the  religious  movement  of  which  I  am 
speaking  is  not  confined  to  the  Mira'h  neighborhood  or  the 
Zafarwal'  mission  district,  but  extends  to  other  places.  We 
cannot  even  assert  that  it  began  in  that  locality  and  spread 
from  it  into  others.  It  is  true  that  its  most  remarkable  devel- 
opment has  been  around  Mira'l'i  as  a  centre;  and  looking  at 
the  stars  on  our  map  indicating  the  villages  and  hamlets 


428  OUR   INDIA    MISSION. 

Where  glad  Christian  homes  with  their  heavenly  light 
Dispel  the  sad  gloom  of  the  pagan's  dark  night, 

one  would  naturally  suppose  that  the  movement  had  begun 
there  and  spread  from  that  point.  But  the  very  same  year 
in  which  Ditt  was  converted  near  Mira'li,  a  man  of  the  Clmh'ra 
caste  was  baptized  by  the  Rev.  J.  P.  McKee  near  Gujranwa'la, 
forty  miles  from  Mira'li — the  people  of  these  two  places,  so  far 
as  we  know,  having  had  no  communication  with  each  other. 
A  widespread  and  earnest  spirit  of  inquiry  has  been  found 
among  these  poor  people  simultaneously,  in  districts  which 
were  separated  by  considerable  distances,  and  by  bridgeless 
rivers. 

In  the  city  of  Gujranwa'la  and  vicinity,  and  in  the  Gurdas'- 
pur  District  east  of  the  Ra'v'i,  the  interest  developed  almost  as 
soon  as  in  Mira'li.  In  this  connection  I  may  repeat  the  fact 
stated  in  a  former  chapter,  that  some  of  our  first  converts  in 
Sial'kot  were  from  this  class,  and  one  of  the  two  very  first  con- 
verts in  our  mission  was  a  Clmh'ra. 

As  soon  as  this  movement  was  fairly  recognized  by  us,  and 
good  evidence  of  its  genuineness  and  permanency  appeared, 
certain  changes  of  great  importance  took  place  in  our  mission- 
ary aims  and  efforts.  Hitherto  our  attention  had  been  largely 
directed  to  people  of  good  social  position — the  more  intelli- 
gent and  influential  classes  of  the  Muhammadan,  Hindu,  and 
Sikh  population.  These  had  been  prominently  before  our 
minds  in  our  study  of  the  language,  the  preparation  of  our  ser- 
mons, our  public  discussions,  our  educational  efforts,  and  in 
our  book  and  tract  distribution.  For  the  convincing  and  con- 
verting of  such  as  these  we  had  put  forth  our  best  efforts,  and 
from  their  ranks  chiefly  we  expected  to  receive  our  accessions. 
But  now,  that  wonderful  passage  in  1st  Cor.  i.  25-29,  began 
to  shine  with  a  new  light,  and  its  Divine  philosophy  began  to 
be  understood,  at  least  by  some  of  us,  as  never  before.  Who 
were  those  "foolish  things,"  and  "weak  things,"  and  "base 
things,"  and  "things  which  are  despised,"  yea,  and  "things 
which  are  not,"  "  whom  God  hath  chosen  ?  "     Who,  too,  were 


RELIGIOUS   MOVEMENTS  AMONG  THE   CHUH'^RAS.  429 

those  "poor,"  those  "publicans  and  sinners,"  and  "common 
people,"  who  received  such  particular  attention  in  the  course 
of  our  Lord's  personal  ministry,  and  who  hearkened  to  him  so 
attentively  and  so  eagerly  ?  On  surveying  our  whole  field  with 
its  endless  divisions  and  distinctions  of  tribe  and  caste  and 
nationality,  we  could  see  nothing  to  which  those  Scripture 
terms  applied  more  fitly  than  to  these  very  Chuh'rds  and  other 
despised  classes  of  India. 

At  our  annual  meeting  in  January,  1877,  we  all  with  one 
accord  resolved  to  go  home  to  our  several  districts,  and  in  our 
evangelistic  labors  give  "special  attention  to  the  poor"  by  which 
was  meant  that  we  would  take  pains  to  reach  the  despised 
Chuh'rds,  making  them  understand  clearly  that  the  gospel  was 
for  tliem  no  less  than  for  the  rich,  the  educated  and  the  pow- 
erful. The  position  of  these  base  and  despised  people  is  such 
that  unless  we  bring  the  gospel  to  them  very  directly  and  par- 
ticularly, they  think  it  intended  only  for  their  superiors.  A 
certain  convert  from  this  class  in  the  city  of  Gujranwa'la  said, 
after  his  conversion,  that  on  first  hearing  the  gospel  preached, 
he  had  a  longing  desire  to  become  a  Christian,  but  wondered 
whether  such  a  thing  were  possible  for  a  Chuhrd.  Many  other 
like  instances  could  be  related.  Special  efforts,  therefore,  are 
necessary  in  order  to  reach  them,  without  which  our  preach- 
ing all  goes,  as  it  were,  over  their  heads;  whilst  the  adaptation 
of  our  labors  to  their  low  condition  does  not  necessarily  in- 
volve the  neglect  of  the  higher  classes. 

When  we  returned  to  our  homes  from  that  annual  meeting, 
and  told  our  educated  native  helpers  that  henceforward  we 
must  all  direct  special  efforts  to  the  Chiihrds,  some  of  them 
found  it  very  difficult  at  first  to  come  down  to  this  humble 
kind  of  work ;  others  began  at  once  to  work  heartily  on  the 
new  line.  All,  with  scarcely  any  exception,  gradually  became 
reconciled  to  it,  and  are  now  laboring  cordially  and  harmon- 
iously. 

Another  important  change,  growing  at  least  in  part  out  of 
this  religious  movement  among  the  lowly,  and  out  of  the  "  new 


430  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

departure"  already  noticed,  was  the  turning  of  our  own  efforts 
more  largely  to  the  country.  Our  early  notions  about  mission 
work  had  led  us  to  select  the  largest  cities  in  which  to  build 
up  ^^ Principal  Stations."  These  stations  were  to  be  the  great 
centers  in  which  the  converts  should  be  congregated  and  or- 
ganized work  established  and  carried  on,  and  from  which  we 
should  extend  our  work  and  influence  throughout  the  country; 
in  every  respect  these  principal  stations  were  to  enjoy  great 
prominence.  But  when  Christians  began  to  live  in  their  ov\gi 
native  villages,  twenty,  thirty,  and  even  forty  miles  away  from 
our  principal  stations ;  when  they  multiplied  by  scores  and 
hundreds,  and  all  thoughts  of  colonizing  them  were  aban- 
doned, our  views  of  the  relative  importance  of  prominent  cen- 
ters in  large  cities  were  greatly  modified.  As  converts  were 
now  no  longer  to  leave  their  homes  and  come  to  us,  we  must 
leave  ours  and  go  to  them.  Accordingly  less  importance  be- 
gan to  be  attached  to  some  of  our  chief  stations,  and  more  to 
tlie  numerous  villages  distributed  over  our  districts. 

It  is  true  that  itinerant  preaching  through  the  country  had 
always,  from  the  very  first,  received  much  attention,  the  seed- 
sowing  having  been  vigorously  carried  on  as  a  fundamental 
part  of  the  work,  from  year  to  year,  before  any  converts  began 
to  live  in  their  native  villages ;  but  in  these  later  years,  while 
this  seed-sowing  has  been  continued  without  any  abatement, 
the  work  of  gathering  in  the  sheaves  has  been  added,  and  to 
this  has  been  joined  the  still  greater  work  of  rightly  caring  for 
the  harvest  after  it  is  gathered.  Some  missionaries,  therefore, 
of  late  have,  as  far  as  the  climate  allowed,  been  giving  almost 
their  whole  time  to  district  work — missionaries  and  their  wives, 
unmarried  missionary  ladies,  native  ministers,  catechists.  Scrip- 
ture readers,  and  helpers  of  every  grade  being  often  busily  en- 
gaged from  village  to  village,  preaching  glad  tidings  to  the 
heathen,  instructing,  examining  and  baptizing  converts,  or- 
ganizing churches  and  Sabbath-schools,  establishing  village 
schools,  and  instructing  both  disciples  and  their  teachers  in 
the  way  of  obedience  to  all  that  Christ  has  commanded. 


RELIGIOUS   MOVEMENTS   AMONG   THE    CHUH'rAS.  43 1 

To  illustrate  the  tendency  of  our  work  of  late  towards  the 
country  population,  and,  I  may  add,  the  slow  pace  at  which 
we  ourselves  have  been  drawn  in  that  direction,  I  will  take  the 
ZafarwaK  and  Mira'h  region  in  which  our  earliest  itinerations 
were  made.  This  region  being  difficult  of  access  on  account 
of  bridgeless  streams,  and  being  twenty  or  thirty  miles  from 
large  cities  and  European  neighbors,  was  by  no  means  such 
an  one  as  in  earlier  days  we  would  have  chosen  for  a  princi- 
pal station.  The  name  Zafarwal',  it  is  true,  often  appears 
prominent  in  our  mission  reports,  being  the  name  both  of  a 
town  of  5000  inhabitants  and  of  the  adjacent  division  of  a  civil 
district.  But  the  city  itself  having  resisted  all  our  attempts  to 
secure  property  within  its  walls,  and  not  having  in  it  a  single 
Christian,  is  of  even  less  importance  as  a  mission  field  than 
the  numerous  outlying  small  villages  in  which  Christians 
reside. 

That  region  which,  from  the  beginning  of  the  extraordinary 
religious  movement  among  the  Megs  in  1859,  rose  above  our 
chief  station  at  Sial'kot  in  real  importance  as  a  field,  continued 
for  eight  years  to  be  only  the  scene  of  occasional  itinerant 
work.  In  January,  1867,  Scott  garh  became  a  "  Sub-station," 
in  which  a  preaching-room  and  shelter  for  missionaries  was 
thrown  up  at  a  trifling  cost,  and  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Scott  was 
located  there.  On  Mr.  Scott's  death,  two  years  later,  this 
station  was  placed  under  Mr.  Martin,  but  continued  to  hold 
only  a  secondary  rank  as  a  kind  of  satellite  to  Sial'kot  for  the 
next  seven  years.  It  occupied  the  same  position  two  years 
more  under  Mr.  Barr,  during  which  period  something  better 
than  a  temporary  shelter  for  a  mission  family  was  erected  in 
the  form  of  a  substantial  house.  But  even  then  the  expendi- 
ture of  mission  funds  in  such  an  out-of-the-way  place  was 
entered  upon  with  timidity,  only  about  half  as  much  money 
being  appropriated  to  the  erection  of  a  house  there  as  would 
have  been  spent  on  one  in  a  principal  station.  In  January, 
1880,  after  that  other  grand  religious  movement  at  Mira'h  had 
been  in  progress  for  some  seven  years,  this  whole  field  lying 


432  OUR   INDIA   MISSION. 

between  the  Deg  and  RaVi  rivers  was  promoted  to  the  rank 
of  an  "  Independent  Charge,"  under  the  care  of  Dr.  Barr ;  and 
not  until  1882  was  Scott  garh  (nominally  Zafarwal')  honored 
with  the  name  of  "Principal  Station,"  and  Dr.  Martin's  whole 
time  devoted  to  the  work  in  the  field  connected  therewith.  In 
January,  1884,  its  boundaries  were  defined,  as  were  the  bound- 
aries of  all  the  sub-divisions  of  our  mission  field,  and  to  it  was 
given  the  name  "  Zafarwal'  Mission  Distnct." 

Thus  the  leadings  of  Providence  have  gradually  diverted 
our  attention,  in  a  great  measure,  from  the  large  central  sta- 
tions to  district  work  among  the  village  peasantry. 

Closely  connected  with  this  change,  when  in  1884  we  organ- 
ized more  perfectly  our  forces  and  defined  more  distinctly  each 
missionary's  field  and  work,  we  entirely  dropped  the  term 
"  Principal  Station"  from  our  reports. 

From  the  same  date,  and  in  harmony  with  the  same  general 
plan,  we  divided  our  whole  field  into  "Mission  Districts"  irre- 
spective of  its  division  into  civil  districts,  the  only  division 
formerly  recognized  in  our  reports.  Thus  the  Sial'kot  civil 
district  is  divided  into  three,  called  the  Sial'kot,  Pasrur'  and 
Zarfarwal'  Mission  Districts ;  the  Gurdas'pur  Civil  District  into 
the  Gurdas'pur  and  Pathan'kot  Mission  Districts  ;  Gujranwa'la 
into  East  and  West  Gujranwa'la,  and  so  on,  as  best  suited  the 
interest  of  our  work,  as  developed  in  later  years;  and  each 
missionary  now  heads  his  annual  report  with  the  name  of  the 
mission  district  in  his  charge,  without  any  mention  of  civil  dis- 
tricts and  principal  stations. 

We  have  in  this  way,  not  through  our  own  wisdom  by  any 
means,  but  through  the  wise  and  gracious  leadings  of  our 
Divine  Master,  corrected  ?,oxxv&  fundamental  mistakes,  and  got 
down  to  the  level  on  which  he  himself  labored.  Instead  of  be- 
ginning at  the  top,  with  our  large  cities,  principal  stations  and 
better  classes  of  people,  as  we  at  first  did,  we  have  got  down 
to  the  Chuh'rds  and  are  beginning  to  build  upwards ;  and,  to 
return  to  our  old  ideas,  would  undoubtedly  be  equivalent  to 
going  a  full  generation  backwards  in  the  great  work. 


CHAPTER    XXXII. 

THE   WORK    IN    GURDAS'PUR,  A    NEW    FIELD. 

MY  FIELD — MY  HELPERS — NO  SCHOOLS  FOR  NON-CHRISTIAN  BOYS — 
PREACHING  TO  THE  POOR — ALMOST  CHRISTIANS — UNEXPECTED  ACCES- 
SION— A  RUINOUS  HERESY — STRANGE  REMEDY  FOR  A  SICKLY  MISSION 
CHURCH — A  SUCCESSFUL  WORKER — HUNGRY  AND  THIRSTY — "WHO  IS 
HE?" — "GOOD  WORDS  AND  TRUE" — FIFTEEN  DAYS  UNDER  GROUND — 
REMARKABLE  SUCCESS  OF  THE  GOSPEL  IN  AWANK''HA — PERSECUTION — 
MORE  ACCESSIONS — THREATENED  WITH  MA-BAP-ISM — THE  GOSPEL 
SPREADS  TO  MANY  VILLAGES — REV.  A.  B.  CALDWELL, 

THE  civil  district  of  Gurdas'pur  has  been  the  field  of  my 
personal  labors  during  the  past  ten  years ;  but  in  speak- 
ing of  these  labors,  justice  requires  that  I  should  recognize  my 
efficient  and  beloved  fellow-laborers,  and  make  frequent  use 
of  the  pronoun  "we." 

John  Clement,  faithful  and  constant,  a  worker  in  our  mis- 
sion ever  since  the  days  of  the  Sepoy  mutiny,  preceded  me  by 
four  years  in  Gurdas'pur  as  a  catechist,  and  is  now  a  ruling 
elder  there,  and  a  licentiate. 

Abdul'lah,  "slow  and  sure,"  one  of  our  early  converts,  bap- 
tized at  the  same  time  with  Kana'ya  and  Bhaj'na,  and  trained 
at  our  Theological  Seminary,  has  labored  up  to  the  present 
time  in  and  about  Kalanaur  and  Khai'ra,  since  the  summer  of 
1876.     He  also  is  an  elder  and  a  licentiate. 

Imam-ul-Dfn  Shahbaz,  born  in  Zafarwal',  converted  and 
baptized  in  the  Church  Missionary  Society's  mission  at  Am- 
ritsar,  and  transferred  to  us  in  July,  1880,  is  a  scholar  and 
poet.  He  is  at  present  engaged  in  making  a  metrical  Urdu 
version  of  the  Psalms,  and  in  evangelistic  work  in  the  district, 
in  which  he  is  industrious,  earnest,  and  efficient. 

In  addition   to  these  three  workers,  others  will  be  briefly 
mentioned  in  the  course  of  the  present  chapter. 
28  (433) 


434  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

When  I  first  entered  Gurdas'pur  on  the  7th  of  February, 
1876,  the  field  was  comparatively  new.  The  gospel  had  been 
preached  to  some  extent  along  the  principal  thoroughfares 
leading  through  the  district,  both  by  our  own  missionaries  and 
those  of  the  Church  Mission  Society;  but  up  to  that  time,  Mr. 
Clement  and  his  family  were  about  the  only  native  Christians 
within  its  bounds. 

My  determination  from  the  first  was  to  do  as  much  preach- 
ing, and  reach  as  many  of  the  1880  villages  in  that  territory  as 
possible.  I  was  frequently  solicited  by  the  natives  to  open  a 
school  in  the  city  of  Gurdas'pur  for  the  higher  education  of 
Hindu,  Muhammadan,  and  Sikh  boys,  but  always  refused  to 
do  so,  not  wishing  to  engage  in  this  form  of  work.  No 
schools  for  non-Christian  boys  therefore  were  opened  by  me 
except  primary  schools,  and  these  only  temporarily  in  two  or 
three  places,  and  at  a  trifling  expense.  The  resolution  to  give 
attention  to  evangelistic  work,  pure  and  simple,  in  distinction 
from  what  is  sometimes  called  the  educational  system — preach- 
ing the  gospel  by  means  of  schools — was  adhered  to  as  strictly 
as  possible.  I  was  in  favor  of  schooling  them  into  power  after 
conversion,  but  not  before  it;  and  though  the  educational  sys- 
tem did  and  still  does  form  a  part  of  the  work  of  some  of  the 
brethren  in  other  parts  of  our  field,  yet  my  course  in  entirely 
avoiding  this  system  has,  I  believe,  met  their  hearty  approval. 

I  will  now  give  a  brief  account  of  the  work  which  has  been 
attempted,  and  the  results  attained  in  my  immediate  portion 
of  the  field  in  the  past  ten  years.  The  history  of  individual 
labors  is  not  necessarily  the  history  of  a  mission  consisting  of 
numerous  working  members,  but  God  has  blessed  our  mission 
band  with  a  good  degree  of  harmony.  The  whole  work  is 
freely  discussed  at  our  annual  meetings,  when  the  aims  and 
methods,  successes  and  reverses,  experiences  and  mistakes  of 
the  several  missionaries  are  thrown  together  as  common  stock, 
yielding  a  large  percentage  of  real  profit  to  be  carried  home 
by  all  of  us  at  the  opening  of  each  year.  We  have  thus  been 
'.enabled    by    the   goodness    of  God    to    work    harmoniously. 


THE   WORK    IN    GURDAs'PUR,  A    NEW    FIELD,  435 

Even  when  mistakes  have  been  discovered,  and  important 
changes  have  become  necessary,  our  work  has  suffered  as 
httle  from  want  of  agreement,  as  has  the  work  of  any  mission 
with  which  I  am  acquainted.  A  brief  account  of  my  own 
work  and  my  own  thoughts  about  it,  will  therefore  come  in  as 
part  of  a  harmonious  whole,  and  with  this  advantage,  that  one's 
knowledge  of  his  own  work  and  his  own  field  is  necessarily 
the  most  complete  and  perfect. 

Evangelistic  efforts,  irrespective  of  schools,  are  of  two  kinds, 
differing  according  to  the  ends  we  have  in  view :  we  may  aim 
either  to  confute  and  silence  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees,  or  to 
bring  glad  tidings  to  the  poor,  and  save  the  publicans  and  sin- 
ners. At  the  outset  in  Gurdas'pur  I  was  bent  chiefly  upon  the 
former.  I  believed  in  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  poor;  but 
thought  even  the  better  classes  in  India  poor  enough  when  com- 
pared with  the  people  of  Christendom,  and  did  not  at  first  un- 
derstand the  philosophy  of  the  gospel  sufficiently  well  to  reach 
the  poor  of  poor  India. 

Within  a  furlong  of  our  house  in  Gurdas'pur  there  were 
three  hundred  boys  and  young  men  receiving  a  secular  educa- 
tion in  an  excellent  government-school — all  belonging  to  good 
classes  and  high  castes,  the  lowest  and  poorest  being  practi- 
cally excluded.  I  was  quite  pleased  to  find  that  from  this 
school  I  could  draw  appreciative  audiences,  to  whom  I 
preached  carefully  prepared  sermons,  and  essayed  logical  lec- 
tures on  Christian  evidences.  The  hearers  were  attentive,  and 
the  work  of  preaching  to  them  was  highly  enjoyable.  Some 
of  the  young  men  acknowledged  privately  that  our  Holy  Bible 
was  the  Word  of  God,  and  that  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God  and 
the  Saviour  of  sinners;  but  none  of  them  were  willing  to  take 
up  his  cross  and  publicly  confess  his  name. 

Proceeding  into  the  country  and  preaching  from  village  to 
village,  I  still  placed  the  better  class  of  Hindus,  Muhamma- 
dans  and  Sikhs  prominently  before  my  mind,  laboring  chiefly 
among  them,  preaching  and  praying  generally  with  the  aim  of 
convincing  and  converting  them,  and  looking  expectantly  for 
the  fruit  of  my  labors  from  among  them. 


436  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Knowing  that  the  Muhammadans  depend  for  the  success  of 
Islam  upon  the  sword,  and  knowing  that  many  of  them  in  our 
field  were  staking  the  truth  of  their  reHgion  upon  the  result 
of  the  Turko-Russian  war,  I  indulged  the  hope  that  on  the 
defeat  of  the  Muhammadan  army  in  that  contest,  multitudes 
of  the  Indian  followers  of  the  false  prophet  would  forsake 
Islam  and  turn  to  the  Christian  religion.  Several  influential 
Muhammadans  of  my  acquaintance  seemed  almost  Christians. 
One  of  these  stood  beside  Abdul'lah  and  myself  in  the  public 
bazar  of  his  own  town,  and  ably  defended  the  gospel  against 
both  Muhammadan  and  Hindu  opposers,  and  after  they  had 
left,  said  to  us  with  childlike  candor  and  deep  feeling:  "Good 
works  have  I  none ;  from  this  world  must  I  soon  depart.  Tell 
me  how  I  am  to  exercise  faith  in  Jesus."  Several  years  have 
passed,  during  which  this  man  has  often  listened  to  the  gospel 
with  evident  delight,  responding  to  it  with  hearty  approval ; 
but  he  does  not  openly  decide  to  forsake  all  for  Jesus,  and  he 
stands  to-day,  outwardly,  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy. 

With  another  influential  Muhammadan  both  my  helpers  and 
myself  have  had  many  interviews  year  after  year,  during  which 
period  he  has  manifested  an  ardent  love  for  Christians.  Bear- 
ing reproach  and  persecution,  reading  his  Bible  habitually  and 
openly,  laboring  to  secure  a  building  site  and  planning  for  a 
future  church  in  his  village,  yet  he  refrains  from  taking  the 
decisive  step  from  the  ranks  of  Christ's  foes  to  those  of  his 
friends.  Whilst  endeavoring  so  to  adjust  his  worldly  affairs 
that  he  will  not  lose  his  houses  and  lands  on  confessing  his 
Saviour,  he  continues  to  hazard  the  loss  of  his  immortal  soul. 

Another,  a  teacher  in  a  government  school,  came  to  me  by 
night,  much  concerned  for  the  conversion  of  his  family,  and 
anxious  that  they  might  all  come  out  together.  Kneeling 
down  with  me  in  my  study,  he  prayed  as  a  Christian  would 
pray,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  for  the  conversion  of  his  Muham- 
madan wife  and  children.  But  he  does  not  confess  Jesus  be- 
fore men,  and  cannot  be  recorded  as  one  of  his  followers. 

Another,  a  Hindu,  a  rich  young  banker,  having  received 


THE   WORK    IN    GURDAS'PUR,  A    NEW    FIELD.  437 

some  instruction  from  me  in  private,  went  home  to  get  his 
thirteen  thousand  rupees  into  his  own  hands,  by  withdrawing 
it  from  a  partnership  with  his  brothers,  as  a  preHminary  to  his 
making  a  pubhc  profession  of  the  name  of  Christ.  But  some 
one  whispered  the  matter  in  his  town,  and  he  has  avoided  me 
ever  since,  being  unable  to  endure  the  cross,  despising  the 
shame,  and  count  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than 
his  thirteen  thousand  rupees. 

Many  more  such  cases  might  be  noticed.  Not  less  than 
fifty  hopeful  inquirers  have  come  under  our  personal  observa- 
tion during  the  last  ten  years — all  of  them  having  education, 
riches,  caste,  official  position,  or  some  other  element  of  worldly 
greatness;  their  names  have  been  entered  upon  our  memoran- 
dum books,  a  deep  interest  in  them  has  been  called  forth  at 
our  monthly  workers'  meetings,  many  prayers  have  been  of- 
fered up  on  their  behalf,  many  journeys  have  been  undertaken 
and  hours  spent  in  seeking  to  lead  them  to  the  Saviour;  but 
only  seven  of  the  fifty  have  come  the  length  of  confessing 
Christ,  four  of  whom  have  since  apostatized.  Such  have  been 
the  meagre  visible  results  of  our  labors  among  the  Scribes  and 
Pharisees,  the  chief  priests  and  rulers — the  wise,  the  mighty, 
the  noble — "  Not  many  .  .  .  are  called."  It  is  easier  for  a  camel 
to  go  through  the  eye  of  a  needle  than  for  such  to  enter  into 
the  kingdom  of  God. 

I  will  now  go  back  and  trace  the  work  along  the  other  line 
of  effort.  Soon  after  we  entered  Gurdas'pur  our  attention  was 
turned  towards  the  Chuli'rds — the  foolish,  weak,  base  and  de- 
spised people  of  our  mission  field.  First  of  all  we  were  in- 
formed by  a  very  obscure  individual  that  certain  ones  of  this 
class  in  the  village  of  Khai'ra,  ten  miles  west  of  Gurdas'pur, 
having  learned  something  of  the  Christian  religion,  desired  us 
to  pay  them  a  visit.  We,  accompanied  by  some  of  our  help- 
ers, began  to  labor  among  them,  which  after  a  time  resulted 
in  an  accession  of  fifteen  persons,  nine  of  whom  were  adults. 

Our  Lord  does  not  say  the  first  shall  necessarily  be  last; 
but  when  he  says:  "There  are  first  which   shall  be  last,"  he 


438  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

teaches  us  to  expect  this  at  least  in  some  instances,  and  such 
an  instance  we  had  in  Khai'ra.  Almost  as  soon  as  the  people 
received  the  gospel  they  began  to  indulge  in  pleasant  dreams 
of  temporal  support,  believing  that  we  could,  if  only  we 
would,  secure  them  land,  dig  wells,  build  houses,  and  give 
them  a  comfortable  start,  which  would  make  them  inde- 
pendent of  their  proud  superiors,  the  Sikh  land  owners  of 
Khai'ra.  We,  of  course,  could  not  think  of  returning  to  the 
burdensome  colonization  system  for  some  years  abandoned, 
and  although  land  within  but  two  miles  of  Khai'ra  was  to  be 
sold  for  the  taxes,  we  refused  to  secure  it.  Our  Khai'ra  breth- 
ren were  importunate  with  their  petitions  for  land,  which  we 
persistently  denied,  at  the  same  time  explaining  fully  and  re- 
peatedly the  evil  results  that  would  be  sure  to  follow  our  yield- 
ing to  their  requests,  assuring  them  that  we  were  in  India  not 
to  provide  corporeal  but  spiritual  bread.  These  poor  people 
said  that  we  were  their  mdbdp  (parents),  and  continued  perse- 
veringly  to  indulge  the  hope  of  our  kindly  performing  for  them, 
sooner  or  later,  the  duties  arising  from  this  parental  relation. 
I  gave  the  whole  management  of  the  Khai'ra  Christians 
over  to  my  helpers,  who  employed  a  Christian  school  teacher, 
sufficiently  educated  to  teach  them  to  read  the  Bible.  But 
unhappily  this  teacher,  having  been  for  several  years  con- 
nected with  the  industrial  school  at  Sial'kot,  was  brimfull  of 
what,  for  lack  of  a  better  word,  I  will  style  mabap-ism,  and 
ere  we  were  aware,  he  had  the  little  Christian  community  of 
Khai'ra  dangerously  infected  with  this  troublesome  heresy,  by 
which  the  good  work  in  that  village  was  seriously  hindered. 
As  long  as  these  ideas  about  temporalities  were  uppermost  in 
the  thoughts  of  the  Khai'ra  Christians,  there  was  no  progress, 
no  edification.  Our  heretical  teacher  was  dismissed,  but  the 
heresy  itself  was  deep-rooted;  and  the  brethren  who  had  the 
management  finally  met  to  consult  as  to  what  must  be  done, 
when  they  concluded  that  the  best  thing  that  could  be  de- 
vised for  the  good  of  the  Khai'ra  Christians  was  to  let  them 
entirely  alone. 


THE   WORK    IN    GURDAS'PUR,  A    NEW    FIELD.  439 

I  am  not  aware  of  this  method  of  treating  sickly  mission 
stations  being  practiced  in  America,  but  it  worked  admirably 
well  in  Khai'ra.  Those  erring  brethren  having  no  desire  to 
forsake  Christ,  did  not  relish  being  left  like  heathens  among 
the  heathen  ;  and  as  soon  as  they  saw  that  their  troublesome 
temporality  notions  had  caused  us  to  forsake  them,  they  were 
humbled,  and  ceasing  their  eager  pursuit  after  the  loaves  and 
fishes,  went  manfully  to  work.  Whenever  they  took  this 
favorable  turn,  we  seconded  their  efforts,  and  a  healthy  growth 
soon  began.  They  are  now  a  Christian  community  of  forty 
persons,  twenty-six  of  whom  are  communicants.  They  have 
a  little  day  school  and  a  Sabbath-school,  conducted  in  a  small 
house,  erected  in  part  by  their  own  efforts,  the  same  build- 
ing being  also  used  as  a  church. 

I  will  now  briefly  notice  the  introduction  of  the  gospel  mto 
D'in'ana'gar  and  Awan'kha,  eight  miles  north  of  Gurdas'pur. 

In  the  autumn  of  1876,  a  well-educated  native  Christian, 
who  for  the  sake  of  his  wife's  health  left  the  unhealthy  city  of 
Amritsar  to  live  in  Din'ana'gar,  applied  to  me  for  employment 
in  mission  work.  This  man,  Az'iz'-ul-Hakk  by  name,  was  born 
about  the  year  1850,  of  Muhammadan  parents,  in  the  south- 
east part  of  the  Sial'kot  Civil  District. 

He  attended  the  Church  Missionary  Society's  mission 
school  at  Na'rowal,  and  afterwards  the  Normal  School  at  Am- 
ritsar, in  both  of  which  schools  he  was  diligently  instructed  in 
the  Scriptures.  One  of  the  able  controversial  works  of  Dr. 
Pfander  was  the  means  of  convincing  him  that  the  Koran  was 
false,  and  that  Muhammad  was  a  sinner,  after  which  he  was 
converted  to  the  Christian  faith,  and  baptized  by  the  venerable 
missionary  the  Rev.  R.  Clark,  of  Amritsar.  Aziz-ul-Hakk,  in 
the  presence  of  his  own  father,  who,  in  a  fit  of  desperation,, 
declared  his  purpose  to  kill  his  son  and  suffer  the  penalty,, 
confessed  publicly  that  the  Koran  was  a  false  and  useless. 
book,  that  the  Bible  alone  was  the  word  of  God,  and  that  be- 
sides the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  there  was  no  other  Saviour.. 
This  man  is  an  eloquent  speaker,  and  a  willing  worker  among 


440  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

the  lowly,  and  has  proved  successful  in  winning  souls.  On 
employing  him  in  the  autumn  of  1876,  I  sent  him  to  D'in'ana'- 
gar,  a  city  of  eight  thousand  inhabitants,  believing  this  to  be 
an  important  field  of  labor. 

Chaughat'ta  is  a  slender  little  man  of  the  CJiuli'rd  caste,  re- 
siding in  the  large  village  of  Awan'kha,  a  mile  west  of  the  city 
of  Din'ana'gar.  Nearly  thirty  y^ars  ago  this  man  became 
thoroughly  dissatisfied  with  idols  and  idol  worship,  as  mere 
empty  things,  affording  him  no  manner  of  rest  or  comfort,  and 
casting  them  all  aside,  he  set  out  to  find,  if  possible,  something 
that  would  satisfy  the  inward  craving  of  his  soul.  Believing 
that  there  was  a  true  God,  he  desired  to  find  some  one  who 
could  teach  him  the  knowledge  of  that  God. 

In  his  search  after  the  knowledge  of  God,  he  visited  in  suc- 
cession a  great  number  oi  fakirs'  and  others  popularly  be- 
lieved in  as  holy  men  having  communications  with  God,  and 
made  many  long  journeys  in  search  of  such  men  whenever  he 
heard  of  them,  but  always  returning  as  restless  and  comfortless 
as  he  went  forth.  Although  meeting  with  repeated  disappoint- 
ments, he  did  not  abandon  the  search,  because,  as  he  expressed 
it,  "a  spark  was  kindled  in  his  heart  which  did  not  go  out." 
He  therefore  continued  from  year  to  year  his  pursuit  after  the 
knowledge  of  God. 

Hearing  of  a  very  great  and  noted  gu'ru  and  obtaining  with 
much  difficulty  an  interview,  he  began  to  sit  at  his  feet  as  a 
disciple.  Approaching  the  git'ru  in  private  one  day,  he  said 
to  him :  "  Sain  (master),  what  virtue  is  there  in  you,  on  ac- 
count of  which  you  make  men  your  die' las  (disciples),  and 
assume  to  be  their  ^;/V/7  .^  " 

The  holy  man  replied  by  repeating  a  verse  of  poetry  con- 
taining the  sentiment  that  gii'rus  and  cJie'lds  are  alike  imper- 
fect sinners,  no  mere  man  being  able  and  worthy  to  fill  the 
office  of  a  true  gii'j-n.  These  words  appeared  to  Chaughat'ta 
to  be  perfectly  true,  but  caused  no  abatement  in  his  efforts  to 
find  God. 

In  the  course  of  his  journeyings  he  heard  of  missionaries, 


THE   WORK    IN    GURDAS'PUR,  A    NEW    FIELD.  44 1 

but  was  unable  to  learn  much  about  them  beyond  these  three 
particulars,  viz.:  First,  that  they  preached  one  Jesus,  of  whom 
the  Muhammadans  testify  that  he  lives  and  is  in  heaven; 
second,  that  they  were  spoken  against  by  every  one;  and 
third,  that  according  to  the  testimony  of  all  men,  they  always 
taught  the  people  to  shun  the  wrong  and  do  the  right;  and 
he  concluded  that  if  he  only  knew  where  to  find  a  missionary, 
he  would  go  to  him  immediately  in  search  of  the  knowledge 
of  the  true  God. 

Having  frequent  occasion  to  visit  the  city  of  D'in'ana'gar, 
Chaughat'ta  heard  much  talk  among  the  people  of  the  city  con- 
cerning a  man  said  to  be  preaching  daily  in  the  bazar — a  man 
of  whom  every  one  seemed  to  have  something  evil  to  speak, 
and  whom  he  at  once  concluded  could  be  no  other  than  the 
sought-for  missionary.  Passing  along  the  bazar  one  day,  he 
saw  a  tall  man  preaching  to  a  crowd,  and  drew  near  to  listen. 
The  preacher  was  telling  the  people  that  th^y  ought  not  to 
worship  idols  or  men,  or  the  tombs  of  departed  saints,  and 
teaching  that  Jesus  was  the  true  and  only  Saviour.  Chau- 
ghat'ta,  forcibly  impressed  by  the  earnest  words  of  the  preacher 
as  being  the  very  truth,  was  greatly  delighted,  and  took  it  hard 
that  the  crowd  mocked  and  ridiculed  such  excellent  dis- 
course. 

"Who  is  that  man  ?  "  he  eagerly  inquired  of  one  standing 
on  the  edge  of  the  throng. 

"  He  is  a  Pd'dri,  and  believes  in  I'sa,"  was  the  reply. 

"Why  then  do  they  all  speak  evil  of  him?  The  words  he 
proclaims  are  good  words  and  true,"  said  Chaughat'ta,  who 
continued  to  listen  with  great  delight,  being  deeply  impressed 
with  what  he  heard. 

On  his  way  home  to  Awan'kha  that  evening,  and  far  into 
the  night,  the  words  of  the  preacher  occupied  Chaughat'ta's 
thoughts ;  and  the  next  day  he  returned  to  the  city  to  search 
for  the  Pd'dri,  making  many  inquiries,  but  finding  no  clue  to 
his  whereabouts.  At  length  the  preacher  himself,  Aziz'-ul- 
Hakk,  accidentally  met  Chaughat'ta  at  one  of  the  city  gates, 


442  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

and  took  him  to  his  house,  delighted  to  find  a  man  who  sought 
rest  from  the  burden  of  sin,  and  who  truly  hungered  and 
thirsted  after  everlasting  life ;  whilst  Chaughat'ta  was  no  less 
rejoiced  to  learn  of  the  sinless  Saviour  who  was  dead  and  is 
alive,  and  who  fully  satisfied  the  longing  of  his  soul. 

After  a  short  period  of  instruction,  Chaughat'ta,  the  first 
fruit  of  our  planting  at  Din'ana'gar,  came  to  Gurdas'pur  and 
was  baptized. 

To  the  missionary  laboring  among  these  lowly  people — the 
"  little  ones"  who  believe  in  Jesus — there  is  something  truly 
delightful  in  the  readiness  and  ease  with  which  many  of  them 
surrender  to  the  Saviour,  as  well  as  in  the  final  and  complete 
manner  in  which  their  yearnings  are  satisfied.  For  nearly  a 
score  of  years  Chaughat'ta,  craving  the  water  of  life,  had  gone 
to  e.vQry  fakir'  and  evQry  gu'ru  of  whom  he  had  any  knowl- 
edge, only  to  be  turned  empty  away  by  them  all  in  succession. 
But  no  sooner  had  he  heard  of  Jesus  and  believed  upon  him 
than  his  thirst  was  satisfied — thus  verifying  our  Saviour's 
words :  "He  that  believeth  on  me  shall  Jiever  thirsty  Seven  years 
have  passed  away  since  Chaughat'ta  believed,  but  he  stead- 
fastly continues  to  rejoice  in  Jesus  as  his  all-sufficient  Saviour, 
the  thought  of  pressing  forward  in  search  of  a  better  one,  as 
aforetime,  now  being  never  entertained  for  a  single  moment — 
he  has  found  rest. 

Is  my  reader  one  who  longs  for  this  rest  ?  If  so,  he  can 
obtain  it  if  he  will  but  apply  for  it.  *'  Come  unto  me,  all  ye 
that  labor  and  are  heavy  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 

In  verification  of  another  of  our  Lord's  profound  sayings : 
"But  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  become  in  him  a  well 
of  water  springing  up  iint'o  eternal  life''  Chaughat'ta  began 
almost  immediately  after  his  conversion  to  tell  others  of  the 
Saviour  he  had  found,  just  as  true  converts  in  every  country 
are  inclined  to  do,  though  often  hindered,  alas !  by  a  conven- 
tional silence  which  I  believe  to  be  wrong.  It  is  impossible  to 
tell  how  many  poor  hungering  and  thirsting  sinners  this  good 
man  has  aided  in  finding  the  Saviour ;  but  their  number  is  not 


THE    WORK    IN    GURDAS'PUR,  A    NEW    FIELD.  443 

a  few.  At  the  time  of  his  conversion  he  was  unable  to  read, 
and  being  nearly  fifty  years  of  age,  was  too  old  to  be  sent  to 
school ;  but  he  procured  a  New  Testament,  and  whilst  em- 
ployed as  a  nightwatch  on  the  mission  premises  at  Gurdas'pur, 
picking  up  a  letter  here  and  a  syllable  there,  succeeded  with- 
out any  regular  instruction  in  learning  to  read.  Then  care- 
fully packing  the  precious  book  in  his  little  bundle,  he  returned 
to  his  native  village  Awan'kha  to  make  diligent  use  of  his  one 
talent,  testifying  to  his  people  of  Jesus  the  only  Saviour  of 
sinners. 

Not  long  after,  another  man  in  Awan'kha,  whose  name  was 
Prem  Masih',  through  the  testimony  of  Chaughat'ta  and  Aziz'- 
ul-Hakk,  believed  in  the  Saviour.  This  man  also  had  passed 
through  an  experience  similar  to  that  of  Chaughat'ta,  and  had 
himself  been  2ifakir'.  In  order  to  obtain  great  notoriety,  and 
become  a  fakir'  of  renown,  he  at  one  time  remained  fifteen 
days  and  nights  in  a  hole  under  ground,  with  a  small  aper- 
ture for  the  entrance  of  air,  through  which  a  few  grains  of 
barley  and  a  little  water  were  handed  in  daily  as  his  sole 
nourishment.  While  thus  painfully  confined  he  was  given  to 
understand  by  the  managers  of  this  absurd  and  distressing  ex- 
hibition, that,  before  his  fast  was  over,  a  cobra  would  crawl  in 
at  the  aperture.  Upon  being  exhumed  in  the  presence  of  a 
vast  concourse  of  superstitious  admirers,  he  found  it  almost 
impossible  to  swallow  any  nourishment;  and  only  after  a  long 
course  of  careful  treatment  was  he  restored  to  his  usual  condi- 
tion. After  a  second  time  observing  this  long  fast,  he  became 
disgusted  with  it  and  with  all  such  observances,  concluding 
that  there  was  nothing  whatever  in  them,  save  merely  worldly 
notoriety;  and  when  he  heard  the  gospel  preached  by  Chau- 
ghat'ta  he  was  fully  prepared  to  receive  it. 

Prem  Mas'ih',  who  was  not  only  able  to  read  but  was  in  addi- 
tion a  charming  singer,  joined  with  Chaughat'ta,  and  became  an 
earnest  and  active  worker,  especially  among  their  own  class 
of  people,  first  in  Awan'kha  and  afterwards  in  many  other 
villages. 


/[^/\  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

As  the  early  results  of  these  men's  labors,  together  with 
those  of  Az'iz'-ul-Hakk,  on  the  3d  of  April,  1881,  five  men 
were  baptized  in  Awan'kha,  and  a  short  time  afterwards  eigh- 
teen men  and  eleven  children — making  a  total  of  thirty-six 
persons,  representing  sixteen  families.  Not  long  after  this 
twenty-one  persons  more  were  received  into  the  little  church, 
most  of  them  being  the  wives  and  daughters  of  those  who  had 
already  become  Christians,  having  at  first  been  terrified  and 
deterred  by  the  threats  of  their  Muhammadan  masters. 

The  Muhammadans,  both  in  D'in'ana'gar  and  Awan'kha, 
chagrined  at  the  success  of  the  gospel,  were  aroused.  Az'iz'- 
ul-Hakk  was  warned  to  leave  the  house  which  he  had  rented. 
As  soon  as  another  residence  was  secured,  the  owner  of  the 
same  was  compelled  by  the  force  of  public  opinion  to  warn 
him  out  of  that  also.  In  order  to  excite  public  indignation 
against  the  obnoxious  Christian  catechist,  a  Hindu,  conspiring 
with  some  Muhammadans  against  him,  made  a  fresh  wound  on 
his  own  cow,  and  led  her  through  the  public  bazar,  while  he 
shouted — "Az'iz'-ul-Hakk  has  cut  my  cow  with  an  axe;"  and, 
hiring  witnesses  against  him,  dragged  him  into  court,  before  a 
Hindu  judge,  who  gave  the  malicious  accuser  no  satisfaction. 

In  spite  of  this,  and  much  more  of  the  same  character,  the 
gospel  gained  ground  steadily  in  Awan'kha.  A  little  church 
has  been  there  erected  at  a  cost  of  eighty  dollars,  partly  by  the 
labors  of  the  poor  Christians  themselves.  A  day  school  and  a 
Sabbath-school  have  been  opened,  and  a  congregation  organ- 
ized in  which  Sabbath  preaching  and  weekly  prayer  meetings 
have  been  established  and  continued.  In  this  organization 
Az'iz'-ul-Hakk,  Chaughat'ta,  and  Prem  Mas'ih'  were  chosen 
elders.  Down  to  the  close  of  the  year  1883,  there  were  only 
four  of  the  members  from  D'in'ana'gar,  all  the  rest  being  resi- 
dents of  Awan'kha;  but  during  the  year  1884,  we  had  an  ac- 
cession of  eighteen  from  the  city  of  Din'ana'gar,  all  men,  and 
mostly  heads  of  families. 

The  good  work  at  Awan'kha  did  not  spread  from  Khai'ra, 
where  it  had   first  begun,  but  was  entirely  distinct.     Indeed, 


THE   WORK    IN    GURDAS'PUR,  A    NEW    FIELD.  445 

we  took  particular  pains  to  prevent  the  Christians  of  Awan'- 
kha  from  associating  with  those  of  Khai'ra,  lest  the  heresy  of 
Md-bap-ism  might  find  its  way  into  this  new  and  live  Christian 
community. 

Feeling  the  great  need  of  a  good  Christian  teacher  for  the 
girls  and  women  of  this  growing  church,  we  secured  a  Chris- 
tian woman  whose  name  was  Muba'rak  (blessed),  and  opened  a 
school,  which  gave  promise  of  excellent  results.  Not  long 
after  this  a  rumor  was  started  that  the  Christians  in  Awan'kha 
had  employed  some  one  to  write  out  for  them  a  petition,  to  be 
in  due  time  presented  to  me,  asking  for  land.  Immediately 
upon  hearing  this  alarming  rumor,  I  assembled  the  elders  and 
made  diligent  inquiry,  when,  lo!  the  startling  discovery  was 
made  that  good  Muba'rak's  unworthy  husband,  whom  we  had 
imported  with  her  into  Awan'kha,  being  a  rank  Md-bdp-ite, 
was  discouraging  the  congregation  from  contributing  to  the 
Lord's  work,  and  zealously  stirring  them  up  to  look  to  us  for 
temporal  support.  He  had  been  saying  to  them :  "  What  will 
your  insignificant  weekly  collections  amount  to?  They  will 
scarcely  buy  oil  for  your  nightly  meetings.  Just  have  a  little 
patience,  and  the  Pd'dr'i  Sd'hib  will  provide  for  your  support — 
not  just  now,  perhaps,  but  by  and  by." 

We  were  not  many  minutes  deciding  how  to  nip  this  thing 
in  the  bud.  It  was  hard,  indeed,  to  send  away  our  good 
teacher  Muba'rak,  and  so  break  up  our  girls'  school;  but  the 
husband  could  not  be  dismissed  without  his  wife,  and  so  great 
was  our  dread  of  having  the  good  work  ruined  by  Md-bdp-ism 
that  we  dismissed  Muba'rak  and  closed  the  school,  I  need 
scarcely  add  that  the  petition  for  land  was  not  presented.  The 
heresy  promptly  disappeared,  and  the  congregation  now  lives 
and  thrives. 

For  pious  earnest  workers  like  Chaughat'ta,  Prem  Masih', 
Ditt  and  others,  I  have  grown  to  entertain  a  profound  respect, 
even  though  they  are  so  illiterate  as  to  be  barely  able  to  read, 
their  worldly  condition  being  little  above  that  of  day  laborers. 
Going  from  house  to  house,  and  from  village  to  village,  and 


446  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

seating  themselves  at  the  firesides  of  those  who  may  be  em- 
phatically styled  the  poor  of  the  land,  these  zealous  laborers 
tell  the  story  of  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,  who  became  a  poor 
man,  wrought  miracles,  died  for  sinners,  arose  from  the  dead, 
and  ascended  into  heaven.  These  fundamental  truths  pre- 
sented in  their  simplicity  reach  the  hearts  of  the  sons  of  pov- 
erty, and  are  blessed  of  God  to  their  conversion. 

Although  the  converts  must  all  be  taught  afterwards  by  us 
and  our  educated  helpers,  yet,  at  the  outset,  they  can  be  more 
easily  reached  by  illiterate  men  of  their  own  class.  We  have 
prayed  much  for  the  needed  laborers  to  be  sent  forth  into  the 
harvest,  and  God  has  answered  our  prayers  in  sending  us  these 
men.  Chaughat'ta  and  Prem  Mas'ih',  joined  by  a  few  others 
of  the  same  general  character,  have  traveled  about  the  dis- 
tricts under  review,  sowing  the  good  seed,  until  there  are  now 
in  the  Gurdas'pur  and  Pathan'kot  mission  districts,  largely 
through  their  instrumentality,  no  less  than  twenty-three  vil- 
lages where  Christians  reside,  and  many  others  in  which  there 
is  religious  inquiry. 

In  concluding  these  remarks  about  my  own  evangelistic 
work  in  the  last  decade,  I  may  say  briefly,  that  I  began  with 
my  eye  upon  the  large  towns  and  cities,  but  have  been  led 
from  them  to  the  country  villages.  I  began  with  the  educated 
classes  and  people  of  good  social  position,  but  ended  among 
the  poor  and  lowly.  The  rich  and  educated  ask  like  Nicode- 
mus,  "How  can  these  things  be?" — few  of  them  ever  ad- 
vancing beyond  this  point;  whilst  the  foolish,  weak,  base,  and 
despised  ones  accept  the  unspeakable  gift  as  soon  as  it  is  of- 
fered, and  press  into  the  kingdom  of  God. 

Our  work  in  that  part  of  the  civil  district  of  Gurdas'pur  ly- 
ing east  of  the  Ravi  having  grown  too  heavy  for  the  writer's 
strength,  the  field  was  at  his  request  divided  in  January,  1883, 
leaving  him  responsible  for  the  work  in  the  northern  portion 
only,  which  is  now  called  the  Pathan'kot  Mission  District; 
whilst  the  southern  portion,  called  the  Gurdas'pur  Mission 
District,  was  assigned  to  the  Rev.  A.  B.  Caldwell,  then  enter- 
ing upon  his  work — a  sketch  of  whose  life  I  give  as  follows: 


THE   WORK    IN    GURDAS'PUR,  A    NEW    FIELD.  447 

The  Rev.  Alexander  B.  Caldwell  was  born  at  Rur'k'i,  India, 
on  the  29th  of  April,  1856,  being  the  seventh  son  of  the  Rev. 
Joseph  Caldwell,  a  venerable  missionary  of  the  Reformed  Pres- 
byterian Church,  and  the  youngest  but  one  of  a  family  of 
eleven  children.  At  the  age  of  seven  he  entered  Maddock's 
Boarding  School  (now  the  Mussoorie  School)  in  Mussoorie,  a 
sanitary  station  in  the  lower  Himalayas,  fifty  miles  from  Suha'- 
ranpur,  in  which  he  continued  eight  years,  afterwards  studying 
privately  with  his  father  one  year  more. 

In  March,  1873,  his  father  sent  him  to  America  to  be  edu- 
cated for  the  mission  work  in  India.  At  Hammonton,  N.  J., 
Alexander  studied  for  six  months  under  the  Rev.  J.  L.  Scott, 
a  returned  missionary  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  then  con- 
ducting a  school  designed  specially  for  the  children  of  mission- 
aries. He  would  now  have  entered  Princeton  College,  as  his 
father  had  purposed ;  but,  believing  the  expense  at  Princeton 
greater  than  his  father  was  able  to  afford,  he  studied  privately 
for  one  year  with  the  Rev.  R.  H.  Boyd,  then  pastor  of  the 
United  Presbyterian  church  at  Londonderry,  Ohio,  after  which 
he  entered  Monmouth  College  in  September,  1875,  by  which 
he  was  graduated  on  the  20th  of  June,  1878. 

Obtaining  his  theological  education  at  our  Allegheny  Sem- 
inary, he  was  licensed  on  the  15th  of  June,  1880,  and  appointed 
a  missionary  to  India  by  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  on  the 
14th  of  March,  1881,  not  completing  his  course  of  theological 
studies  until  near  the  end  of  the  same  month.  He  was  mar- 
ried to  Miss  Amelia  Margaret  Eckert,  of  Allegheny  City,  Pa., 
on  the  13th  of  April,  1881,  and  ordained  six  days  later,  on  the 
19th,  after  which  he  and  his  wife  sailed  from  Philadelphia  on 
the  26th  of  May,  landing  at  Calcutta  on  the  24th  of  July. 

On  their  inland  journey  from  Calcutta,  Mrs.  Caldwell  became 
ill,  as  was  naturally  to  be  expected  from  reaching  India  at  that 
season  of  the  year,  in  consequence  of  which  they  were  detained 
by  the  way.  Stopping  at  Dehra,  to  pay  a  visit  to  Mr.  Cald- 
well's widowed  mother — his  revered  father  having  died  during 
his  absence  in  America — they  were   advised  by  our  missiona- 


448  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

ries  to  tarry  at  the  adjacent  hill  station,  Landaur,  until  the 
cholera,  then  raging  in  the  Panjab',  should  abate ;  and  finally 
they  arrived  at  Gujranwa'la  on  the  7th  of  October,  1881. 

Mr.  Caldwell,  after  temporarily  filling  the  place  of  Mr.  Mc- 
Kee,  then  absent  in  America,  proceeded  to  Gurdas'pur  to  as- 
sume the  work  of  his  district  from  the  ist  of  April,  1883. 


REV.  ALEXANDER  B.  CALDWELL. 


MRS.  AMELIA  M.  CALDWELL. 


CHAPTER    XXXIII, 


SOWING    AND    REAPING. 


AS  we  look  back  to  the  early  days  of  seed-sowing  in  our 
India  Mission,  we  see  some  things  which,  if  viewed  by 
themselves  alone,  would  appear  very  discouraging.  The  high- 
est net  increase  of  membership  in  any  one  of  the  first  nineteen 
years  of  our  history  was  sixteen  communicants.  Four  of 
these  years,  instead  of  any  increase,  showed  an  actual  de- 
crease of  from  one  to  ten  members  in  a  year.  The  total  ag- 
gregate of  the  membership  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  year 
was  not  one-sixth  part  as  great  as  the  net  increase  of  some 
single  years  of  late.  The  aggregate  membership  of  the  whole 
mission  at  the  end  of  twenty-one  years  was  less  than  half  as 
many  as  have  recently  been  received  in  a  single  year  by  one 
of  our  missionaries.  In  those  years  of  seed-sowing,  a  mission- 
ary sometimes  spent  from  two  to  four  months  in  itinerations, 
in  which  he  preached  the  gospel  to  fifty,  one  hundred,  and 
sometimes  one  hundred  and  fifty  villages,  receiving  many 
curses,  but  no  converts;  all  he  could  say  was  that  he  had 
faithfully  sowed  the  seed  without  reaping  any  visible  fruit,  and 
that  he  must  leave  results  with  the  Master. 

Facts  like  these  were  by  no  means  assuring  to  those  who 
were  maintaining  us,  and  who  from  their  distant  standpoint 
could  see  no  further  into  the  work  than  they  were  enabled  to 
do  by  the  yearly  statistical  tables.  In  truth,  some  were  dis- 
couraged, and  others  more  than  willing  to  have  the  mission 
entirely  discontinued.  The  workers  themselves  often  mourned 
sorrowfully  over  this  depressing  state  of  affairs;  and  yet  there 
was  something  which,  though  less  tangible  than  statistical  fig- 
ures, kept  hope  alive  and  stimulated  us  to  effort.  The  Mas- 
29  (449) 


450  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

ter's  promise,  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you,"  cheered  us  onward ;  his 
pledging  "All  power  *  *  *  jj^  heaven  and  in  earth,"  for 
the  success  of  this  enterprise,  assured  us  that  it  must  succeed; 
his  command,  "  Go  *  *  teach  *  *  baptize,"  forbade  us 
to  give  up;  whilst  the  history  of  successful  modern  missions 
taught  us  that  we  had  abundant  reason  to  thank  God  and  take 
courage.  There  was  no  time,  not  even  the  darkest,  when  the 
judgment  of  our  mission  band  would  have  pronounced  the 
abandonment  of  our  field  anything  short  of  recreant  folly. 
There  was  perhaps  no  darker  year  than  1869 — a  year  in  which 
three  foreign  missionaries  and  their  wives,  one  unmarried  lady 
missionary,  and  one  native  ordained  missionary,  aided  in  their 
work  by  sixty  church  members,  labored  as  in  other  years, 
with  a  result  at  the  year's  end,  so  far  as  shown  by  statistics, 
of  a  net  loss  of  ten  communicants.  But  even  then  there  were 
indications  which  cheered  those  who  were  in  the  field.  Their 
report  at  the  close  of  that  year  (1869),  said:  "There  is  every 
evidence  that  the  truth  is  gaining  ground,  and  we  feel  thankful 
that  God  is  permitting  us  to  contribute  somewhat  to  the  pro- 
gress of  this  great  work."  Again,  "  There  is  a  general  spirit 
of  inquiry  among  the  Megs."     And  again,  although  the  year 

1868  had  shown  a  gain  of  thirteen  members,  this  report  for 

1869  said  in  regard  to  the  work  in  general,  that  the  mission- 
aries had  more  encouragement  than  the  year  before. 

We  could  not  make  people  in  America  see  what  we  saw  in 
India,  Many  of  them  looked  only  or  chiefly  at  statistics, 
whilst  we,  of  course,  could  not  parade  false  figures  to  support 
their  drooping  faith.     We  were  left  too  icv^  and  weak-handed 

.al&o  to  continually  write  essays  in  favor  of  missions  to  the 
heathen,  and  to  go  on  proving  the  truth  of  what  the  Bible 
teaches  on  that  subject.     The  determination  of  many  appeared 

'to  be  to  walk  by  sight  in  this  matter,  and  one  of  the  most  bur- 
densome   features   of  our   work    was    the    constant   pressure 

-brought  upon  us  to  show  something.     This  weighed  heavier 

kUpoQ  us  than  the  real  discouragements  of  the  work  itself 

In  order  to  present  a  pleasant  contrast  with  these  doleful 


SOWING    AND    REAPING.  45  I 

days,  and  to  show  at  the  same  time  that  discouragements  and 
hard  work  are  not  yet  ended,  I  will  give  an  extract  from  the 
diary  of  Brother  Lytle,  who  joined  our  mission  band  as  late  as 
the  beginning  of  the  year  1882,  the  fact  itself  that  he  came  so 
recently  to  the  work  adding  interest  to  the  reaping  of  which 
his  diary  gives  an  account.  But  before  quoting  from  his  diary, 
I  will  introduce  the  missionary  himself,  and  also  give  a  sketch 
of  the  life  of  Miss  Anderson,  who  accompanied  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lytle  to  India. 

The  Rev.  D.  S.  Lytle  was  born  in  Indiana  county.  Pa.,  on 
the  3d  of  January,  1847.  When  ten  years  of  age  he  removed 
with  his  father  to  Iowa,  and  subsequently  settled  in  Washing- 
ton county  of  that  state,  in  the  year  i860.  After  receiving  a 
common  school  education,  he  was  engaged  for  several  years 
on  his  father's  farm  in  summer,  and  in  school  teaching  in  win- 
ter, outward  circumstances  leading  him  rather  to  make  farm- 
ing his  business  for  life.  Meanwhile  the  desire  to  enter  the 
ministry,  which  had  been  in  his  mind  from  an  early  age,  had 
gradually  developed  into  a  strong  conviction  that  it  was  his 
duty  to  do  so  if  possible.  The  way,  however,  for  entering 
upon  a  long  course  of  study  not  seeming  clear  to  him,  he  en- 
deavored to  dismiss  the  thought. 

On  the  26th  of  December,  1872,  he  married  Miss  M.  B. 
Gordon,  of  Washington,  Iowa.  A  short  time  after  this  event, 
the  question  of  preparing  for  the  ministry  was  revived  in  a  con- 
versation on  the  subject  of  missions,  as  they  were  returning 
one  day  from  church,  in  which  Mrs.  Lytle  heartily  expressed 
her  willingness  to  co-operate  with  him  in  case  he  should  con- 
clude to  enter  upon  a  course  of  study.  Still,  for  a  long  time 
after  this,  he  endeavored  to  banish  the  thought,  and  settle 
down  to  a  farmer's  life,  not  without  a  frequent  recurrence  of 
the  old  impression  that  farming  was  not  his  work,  and  that 
he  ought  to  give  himself  to  the  ministry  of  the  gospel. 

One  day  while  seated  upon  the  plough  resting  himself  and 
his  team,  and  thinking  intently  upon  the  subject,  he  said  to 
himself:  "  I  am  entirely  unfit  for  the  ministry.     What  is  the 


452  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

use  of  my  anxiously  debating  this  question  any  longer?  I 
will  now  dismiss  it  finally  and  forever." 

Immediately  upon  his  making  this  resolve,  these  words 
came  into  his  mind:  "  My  grace  is  sufficient  for  thee,  for  my 
strength  is  made  perfect  in  weakness."  Whereupon  he  sought 
advice  of  the  Rev.  D.  A.  Wallace,  D.  D.,  and  others,  which 
led  him  eventually  to  set  about  preparing  for  the  ministry. 

After  a  regular  course  in  Monmouth  College,  by  which  he 
was  graduated  in  June,  1879,  he  entered  the  Xenia  Theolog- 
ical Seminary  in  September  of  the  same  year.  During  these 
years  of  preparation,  Mrs.  Lytle  not  only  encouraged  him  in 
the  course  undertaken,  but  with  willing  hands  contributed 
much  material  aid. 

In  1 88 1  Dr.  Dales  and  the  Rev.  S.  C.  Ewing,  of  our  Egypt 
mission,  visited  the  Seminary,  when  a  profound  interest  in  for- 
eign missions  was  awakened  among  the  students.  At  that 
time  it  became  known  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lytle  held  them- 
selves willing  and  ready  to  go  to  any  field  to  which  the  Mas- 
ter would  send  them.  Dr.  Dales  in  his  lecture  to  the  stu- 
dents had  called  for  men  who  could  not  remain  at  home, 
whose  burning  desire  irresistibly  compelled  them  to  go  to  the 
foreign  field.  Mr.  Lytle,  when  interrogated  on  the  subject, 
said  he  could  not  offer  himself  on  this  ground,  because  he  held 
himself  ready  to  go  to  any  field,  home  or  foreign,  to  which  the 
Master  should  call  him. 

At  the  first  subsequent  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  he  was  appointed  to  our  India  Mission,  and  on  the 
7th  of  June,  1 88 1,  was  ordained  by  the  Xenia  Presbytery, 
with  the  view  of  proceeding  to  that  field. 

Miss  Emma  Dean  Anderson,  the  sixth  child  of  James  and 
Margaret  Anderson,  was  born  in  Butler  county.  Pa.,  the  5th  of 
September,  1856,  and  was  educated  at  the  Witherspoon  Insti- 
tute, Butler,  Pa.,  and  afterwards  at  the  Grove  City  Academy. 
During  the  five  years  from  1874  to  1880,  she  taught  in  the 
public  schools  of  Butler  county. 

Emma,  from  her  early  childhood,  felt  interested  in  missions 


L_ 


MISS   EMMA   D.  ANDERSON. 


SOWING   AND    REAPING.  453 

to  the  heathen,  and  thought  at  one  time  that  she  would  hke  to 
go  to  the  China  mission.  Her  first  deep  and  decided  rehgious 
impressions  were  produced  by  the  instrumentahty  of  her  pas- 
tor, the  Rev.  I.  T.  Wright,  who  being  himself  a  warm  friend 
of  missions,  naturally  encouraged  her  early  inclination  for  that 
work.  In  a  conversation  about  foreign  missions  between  her 
and  her  pastor,  the  latter  obtained  from  her  permission  to  send 
her  name  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
who  corresponded  with  her  on  the  subject. 

When  the  question  was  definitely  asked  by  the  Board : 
"  Will  you  go?"  she  thought  it  proper  to  ask  counsel  of  her 
parents  before  returning  an  answer.  One  evening,  whilst  walk- 
ing in  the  garden  with  her  mother,  she  said :  "  I  have  received 
a  letter  from  the  Board,  asking  me  whether  I  will  consent  to  go 
as  a  missionary  to  the  heathen.  Are  you  willing,  mother,  that 
I  should  go  ?  " 

To  Mrs.  Anderson,  who  had  no  previous  intimation  that 
Emma  seriously  contemplated  taking  such  a  step,  the  sudden 
thought  of  parting  was  painfu-1  in  the  extreme.  After  silently 
but  briefly  considering  the  matter,  she  answered,  decidedly: 
"  Yes,  Emma,  if  the  Lord  has  called  you  I  will  not  say  no." 
Miss  Anderson  then  intimated  to  the  Board  her  willingness  to 
go.  They  next  inquired  whether  she  had  a  preference  for  any 
particular  one  of  the  foreign  missions;  to  which  she  replied: 
"  Send  me  where  I  am  most  needed."  As  there  was  an  urgent 
call  from  India  at  the  time,  they  determined  to  send  her  there, 
and  informed  her  accordingly. 

Three  weeks  only  remained  for  a  somewhat  hurried  prepa- 
ration, after  which  she  bade  farewell  to  her  seven  brothers  and 
sisters,  and  was  accompanied  by  her  sorrowing,  yet  rejoicing, 
parents  as  far  as  Philadelphia,  where  she  was  to  embark  in 
company  with  other  missionaries. 

On  the  31st  of  August,  1881,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lyde,  Miss  An- 
derson, and  Miss  Calhoun,  then  returning  to  India  after  a  visit 
to  her  native  land,  sailed  from  Philadelphia,  happily  enjoying 
during  a  part  of  their  voyage  the  pleasant  company  of  three  of 


454  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

our  missionaries  then  on  their  way  to  Egypt.  Those  of  the 
company  who  were  bound  for  India,  after  paying  a  visit  of  a 
few  days  to  our  Egypt  mission,  landed  in  Calcutta  on  the  28th 
of  October,  and  arrived  at  Gujranwa'la  on  the  5th  of  Novem- 
ber, 1 88 1. 

Mr.  Lytle's  labors  have  been  confined  to  the  SiaFkot  Mission 
District,  in  which  he  has  been  much  engaged  in  village  work. 

The  following  notes,  taken  by  him  during  his  recent  itinera- 
tions, will  show  better  than  any  thing  else  in  my  possession 
the  nature  of  such  work,  and  its  present  condition,  in  contrast 
with  that  of  by-gone  days  : 

"  Wherein  we  grief  have  had. 
And  years  wherein  we  ill  have  seen." 

In  the  month  of  November,  1883,  the  missionaries  at  SiaK- 
kot  brought  out  their  tents,  hired  camels,  and  made  the  usual 
round  of  preparations  for  itinerating  in  the  district.  The  party 
consisted  of  the  Rev.  D.  S.  Lytle  and  wife,  the  Rev.  G.  L. 
Tha'kur,  Miss  Elizabeth  G.  Gordon,  Miss  Lizzie  McCahon, 
Karm  Dad  and  Rah'mat  Masih',  licentiates;  and  Mary  Anna, 
a  Bible  woman.  Their  itinerations  were  to  extend  eastward 
and  southward  from  the  city  of  Sial'kot.  Their  object  was 
two-fold:  to  build  up  the  Christians  in  knowledge  and  reli- 
gious life ;  and  to  make  known  the  gospel  to  the  heathen. 
The  field  was  an  old  one,  on  which  Brothers  Martin  and  Tha'- 
kur,  and  others,  had  bestowed  much  labor,  and  where  Chris- 
tians were  already  residing  in  more  than  a  score  of  villages, 
whilst  it  contained  hundreds  of  other  villages  in  which  shone 
not  the  light  of  a  single  Christian  home. 

Into  such  a  territory,  and  with  such  objects  in  view,  our 
party  started  out,  and  the  following  are  some  of  the  matters 
of  chief  interest  written  in  Brother  Lytle's  note-book. 

"November  3,  1883. — Encamped  at  Philau'ra,  a  village  six- 
teen miles  east  of  Sial'kot,  on  the  road  to  Zafarwal'.  Leaving 
our  tents  here,  we  preached  in  four  adjacent  villages,  in  which 
there  were  yet  no  Christians;   after  which  we  removed   the 


SOWING   AND    REAPING.  455 

same  evening  to  the  village  of  Sabzkot.  Find  at  Sabzkot  five 
Christians  and  their  families,  of  whom  P'ir'andit'ta  is  the  active 
leader.  The  gospel  has  been  often  preached  here  by  Bhaj'na, 
who  also  instructs  the  Christians  and  inquirers.  The  Chris- 
tians appear  glad  to  see  us.  They  have  the  clay  walls  erected 
of  a  little  church  building,  and  have  on  the  ground  some  tim- 
ber for  the  roof  (the  result  of  their  own  voluntary  enterprise). 
The  Znilddr,  a  native  officer  appointed  by  the  government 
over  about  fifty  villages,  had  ordered  them  to  stop  building, 
and  had  shown  a  disposition  to  oppress  them,  having  taken 
from  them  by  force  a  valuable  hide.  Took  the  Zailddr  to  task 
for  oppressing  the  Christians,  upon  which  he  restored  the  hide, 
and  promised  to  hinder  their  building  no  more  for  the  future. 
Remained  at  Sabzkot  over  Sabbath,  assembling  for  Divine  ser- 
vice in  Pir'andit'ta's  house  both  morning  and  evening.  After 
morning  service,  several  inquirers  repaired  to  Karm  Dad's 
tent  for  instruction  and  guidance.  Sabbath  evening  collection, 
amounting  to  six  rupees,  was  given  to  the  Christians  to  aid  in 
building  their  church.  They  did  not  understand  why  it  should 
be  given  to  them,  and  received  it  reluctantly  only  after  being 
told  that  we  would  expect  them  to  have  the  house  ready  for 
use  by  the  time  of  our  next  visit.  The  little  band  of  Chris- 
tians here  has  been  increased  on  this  occasion  by  an  accession 
of  four  adults  and  three  infants. 

"November  6th. — Pitched  our  tents  at  Dug'r'i.  The  ladies 
visited  the  women  of  this  village,  but  were  not  favorably  re- 
ceived.    A  few  villagers  came  to  the  tent  to  hear  the  gospel. 

"  November  7th  and  8th. — Encamped  at  Chauwin'dd,  a  vil- 
lage three  miles  southwest  of  Philau'ra.  Twelve  Christians 
already  living  here.  No  Christian  teacher  here,  and  the 
Christians  not  bearing  the  best  of  characters.  Showed  us. 
their  good  will  by  offering  us  a  plate  of  sweetmeats,  with  a  sil-- 
ver  rupee  and  two  fowls,  the  present  being  accompanied  by  a 
request  that  we  should  send  them  a  teacher.  Accepted  only 
so  much  of  their  present  as  was  necessary  to  show  appreci- 
ation  of  their  good   will,   the   money   declined  with   thanks.. 


456  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Eighteen  persons  sought  admission  to  the  church,  but  were 
put  off  for  a  time,  for  good  reasons.  On  the  night  of  the  7th, 
one  of  our  tents  was  robbed  of  ninety-five  rupees  and  a  chest 
of  medicine.  The  village  authorities,  very  probably  from  malice, 
charged  the  theft  upon  the  Christians  living  there. 

"November  12th. — Encamped  at  Ban,  where  we  found 
eight  Christians,  who  were  cold  and  careless,  though  supplied 
with  a  teacher. 

"November  14th. — Stopped  at  That'th'i,  south  of  Pasrur'. 
The  head  man  of  That'th'i,  a  Muhammadan,  refused  to  sell  us 
supplies  of  food,  fuel,  and  other  necessary  articles,  and  gave 
us  much  trouble  before  we  could  obtain  them.  The  Chris- 
tians here  are  kept  so  closely  at  work  by  their  Muhammadan 
masters,  that  we  are  unable  fo  get  them  together  for  instruc- 
tion before  night.  Earnest  inquiry  at  this  place,  and  some 
persons  waiting  to  be  received. 

"November  15th. — Last  night  Brother  Tha'kur  baptized 
two  men,  five  women,  and  one  infant.  Unable  to  provide 
That'th'i  with  a  regular  Christian  teacher. 

"  November  i6th. — Pitched  our  tents  at  Churman'da.  Find 
here  fifteen  Christians.  Enjoyed  a  very  good  hearing,  both 
from  the  Christians  and  others  who  came  with  them  to  the 
preaching.  Preached  at  Bhar'oke,  two  miles  south  of  Chur- 
man'da, and  were  listened  to  attentively  by  the  Hindus  of  that 
village  and  the  two  Christians  residing  there.  Preached  at 
Kot'l'i,  a  mile  north  of  Churman'da,  where  are  three  Christians. 
The  women  did  not  come  out,  but  were  visited  at  their  homes 
by  the  lady  missionaries.  Returned  to  our  tents  at  Churman'- 
da, and  preached  there  at  night.  No  teacher  at  Churman'da, 
and  the  Christians  not  in  a  satisfactory  condition. 

"  November  17th. — Removed  to  Baklit'piir,  two  miles  north 
of  Churman'da.  The  four  Christians  living  here  are  in  good 
heart.  Invited  by  a  resident  of  Mil' Jiamva' Id  to  come  to  his 
village,  but  were  obliged  to  defer  the  visit  until  our  next  trip. 
Passed  the  Sabbath  at  BakJit'piir,  and  as  usual  had  public  wor- 
ship in  our  tent. 


"•^^^3BI^ 

w  j0m 

t        '^  1 

\k^^ 

-''^^B 

^ 

f 

REV.  D.  S.  LYTLE. 


MRS.  BELLE  LYTLE. 


SOWING   AND    REAPING.  457 

"Monday,  November  19th. — Moved  tents  to  Niir'pur,  four 
miles  southeast  of  Bakht'pur.  Find  here  two  Christians.  Op- 
position from  the  land-owners  very  bitter.  The  Christians 
through  fear  kept  aloof  from  us  until  night,  when  they  ventured 
to  come  out  a  little  while.  They  complain  that  their  employers 
persecute  them  and  threaten  to  cut  them  off  from  all  chance  of 
obtaining  their  necessary  food.  Fear  they  will  not  hold  out 
under  this  pressure. 

"  November  20th. — Pasriir' — stopped  over  night.  Two  men 
followed  us  from  Bakht'pur,  and  showed  themselves  deter- 
mined to  stand  fast,  no  matter  what  they  should  have  to  suffer. 

"November  2ii3t — Back  to  Chauwin'dd  again.  Christians 
here  glad  to  see  u...  Public  worship  at  7  p.  m.  Baptized  five 
men  and  nine  women.  Thursday,  November  22d,  eleven  in- 
fants presented  for  baptism  at  the  close  of  public  worship. 
Prospected  for  a  school-house  site  without  accomplishing  any 
thing  definite.     Returned  to  Sial'kot. 

"  Second  expedition:  December  4th. — Left  Sial'kot. 

"  December  7th. — Bhar'oke  south  of  Churman'da.  On  the 
way  here  the  load  fell  from  one  of  our  camels  as  he  was  leaping 
a  ditch,  and  a  io.-^  of  our  things  were  broken.  Found  here  four 
Christians  who  had  the  notion  that  on  embracing  the  Christian 
faith  they  v/ould  reap  some  worldly  advantage — be  taken  into 
our  employment,  or  the  like — which  proves  a  great  hindrance 
to  the  work  in  this  place. 

"  December  8th. — Encamped  at  Md'hanwd'ld,  the  centre  of 
a  group  of  smaller  villages.  Arrived  here  at  3  p.  m.  Chris- 
tians glad  to  see  us.  Divine  service  held  at  night;  the  tent 
full,  and  audience  attentive.  Four  men  from  Dhil'l'i,  a  neigh- 
boring village,  and  a  fifth  man,  accompanied  by  a  Christian 
from  another  village  twelve  miles  distant,  desire  to  embrace 
the  Christian  religion.  Remained  encamped  at  Ma'hanwa'la 
over  Sabbath.  Public  worship  here  in  tent  on  Sabbath  morn- 
ing. Walked  over  to  Dliil'l'i  and  held  public  service  during 
the  daytime,  baptizing  four  men,  four  women,  and  seven  chil- 
dren, all  belonging  to  one  household.     Same  Sabbath  at  4 


458  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

p.  m.  in  Bath,  one  cos  southwest  of  Ma'hanwa'la ;  baptized 
three  men,  four  women,  and  six  children.  Same  Sabbath 
evening,  back  to  Ma'hanwa'la  again.  Divine  service  at  eight 
o'clock,  Rah'mat  Mas'ih'  preaching  on  Matt.  x.  22:  'Ye  shall 
be  hated  of  all  men  for  my  name's  sake.'  As  he  was  telling 
the  Christians  of  Ma'hanwa'la  what  persecutions  they  must 
expect,  one  of  them,  an  old  man,  became  so  happily  excited 
that  he  could  not  refrain  from  shouting  aloud  in  the  midst  of 
the  sermon :  '  That  is  a  true  saying!  That  is  just  the  way  they 
treat  us ;  they  threaten  to  drive  us  out  of  our  village ! '  and  the 
happy  old  Christian  laughed  outright  with  pure  satisfaction,  to 
know  that  the  words  of  Jesus  so  exactly  suited  his  case. 
When  he  heard  us  singing  a  Psalm,  he  said:  'That  is  one 
they  sing  at  Mira'l'i,'  thus  showing  the  close-attention  paid. 
He  was  our  night  watch,  and  spent  his  lonely  hours  singing. 
Sometimes  by  extemporizing  a  little,  he  showed  the  prevailing 
current  of  his  thoughts  by  humming :  '  I'sd  Mas'ih'  Kliuda'  kd 
Be' id'  (Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God).  This  old  man's  wife 
is  as  notable  a  Christian  as  himself,  deprived  of  sight,  but  quite 
intelligent.  When  the  women  of  Ma'hanwa'la  were  visited  by 
our  wives  and  sisters,  they  pointed  to  this  blind  old  woman, 
saying :  '  Teach  her,  and  she  will  teach  us.' 

"December  nth. — Encamped  at  Mango' Id.  The  house- 
hold baptized  last  Sabbath  at  Dhil'li  followed  us  to  this  place. 
The  gray-headed  old  man,  with  his  wife,  three  sons,  three 
daughters-in-law,  and  his  children's  children,  all  sitting  down 
together  in  the  house  of  God,  touchingly  reminded  us  of  the 
old  scene  acted  over  again — '  Noah  and  his  sons  and  his  wife 
and  his  sons  wives  with  him,'  entering  into  the  ark.  Three 
Christians  at  this  place  before  we  came.  Muhammadans  very 
bigoted,  and  begin  to  oppose  us  as  soon  as  the  preaching  com- 
mences. Refused  us  supplies  until  .Rah'mat  Masih'  made 
them  understand  their  duty  and  responsibility  in  the  matter. 
The  land-owners  collected  a  mob  and  threatened  us.  When 
Tha'kur  began  to  .take  down  their  names  to  report  to  the  gov- 
ernment, they  were  afraid  to  approach  our  tents.     Brought 


SOWING    AND    REAPING.  459 

their  Koran,  and  anxious  for  a  debate.  Allow  the  debate  to 
take  place,  after  they  had  agreed  not  to  use  any  abusive  lan- 
guage. This  opened  the  way  for  our  men  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  many  without  much  interruption.  After  this  the  Chris- 
tians residing  here  came  freely  to  us ;  also  many  inquirers 
came  to  us  both  from  this  and  other  villages.  Sermon  in  tent 
in  the  evening  by  Rev.  G.  L.  Tha'kur.  Baptized  ten  men, 
four  women,  and  four  children. 

"December  12th. — Reached  Man'ga,  six  miles  from  Man- 
go'la,  at  3:30  p:  m. — tired.  The  Zailddr  brought  a  present  of 
some  rice,  and  two  fowls.  The  village  Mmd'av'i  brought  out 
his  Koran,  and  made  a  good-natured  feeble  resistance.  The 
Land-owners  here,  having  lent  seed  grain  to  some  of  the  poor 
men  of  the  village  who  afterwards  became  interested  inquirers, 
took  it  from  them  again,  and  threatened  to  deprive  them  of 
both  food  and  employment  should  they  be  baptized.  None 
of  them  declare  themselves  at  this  time.  Have  hope  of  their 
doing  so  at  some  future  time. 

"Saturday,  December  15th. — Arrived  at  Dho'da,  a  large 
town  south  of  Pasrur'.  Stayed  over  till  Monday.  Services 
Saturday  evening  and  Sabbath  morning  in  tent,  and  Sabbath 
evening  in  the  CJiuJi'rd  portion  of  the  town.  Baptized  two 
men,  one  woman,  and  five  children.  These,  added  to  the  num- 
ber of  Christians  already  here,  make  fifty-four. 

"Third  trip:  February  20th,  1884. — Pitched  our  tents  at 
Chal.    No  Christians.    Stopped  two  nights.    Baptized  one  man. 

"February  22d.  —  Again  at  Sabz'kot.  Found  the  little 
church  building  completed.  Remained  from  Saturday  till 
Monday.  On  Saturday  evening  took  our  camp  chairs,  lanterns 
and  candles  with  us,  and  dedicated  the  new  church — singing 
on  this  occasion  the  127th  Psalm.  No  debt  on  this  church. 
Land-owners  trying  to  take  it  from  the  Christians, — made  this 
the  subject  of  special  prayer  at  the  close  of  public  worship.* 

*The  Christians  retain  possession  of  the  building  in  spite  of  the  many  false  wit- 
nesses hired  against  them,  but  will  have  a  nominal  rent  to  pay  for  the  site  on  which 
it  stands. 


460  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

"  February  25th. — Encamped  at  Ju'win,  north-eastward  from 
Sabz'kot.  No  Christians  here  before  our  arrival.  Baptized  two 
young  men.  The  relatives  of  the  leading  man  among  the 
Christians  at  Sabz'kot  live  here,  and  show  some  interest,  but 
are  afraid  of  losing  office,  and  are  waiting  to  see  how  it  will 
fare  with  others. 

"  February  26th. — Tro,  five  miles  southeast  of  Sabz'kot.  A 
native  assistant  had  reported  several  families  here  ready  for 
baptism.  Think  their  faith  too  weak  to  face  the  trials  in  store 
for  them,  and  defer  the  rite  for  the  present. 

"February  27th  and  28th. — Pinjanke,  five  miles  southwest 
of  Tro.  No  Christians  here  before,  but  our  native  assistant 
had  preached  here  frequently,  and  reported  a  religious  interest. 
Held  divine  service  in  the  evening,  and  baptized  eight  men." 

I  have  now  given  brief  notes  from  Brother  Lytle's  diary, 
showing  the  main  features  of  a  modern  four  months'  itinera- 
tion. A  few  thoughts  connected  with  the  subject  of  these 
notes  will  close  this  chapter. 

1st.  On  such  tours  a  great  amount  of  excellent  work  is 
quietly  done  by  female  missionaries  and  their  Bible  women, 
among  both  the  Christian  and  heathen  women,  not  generally 
mentioned  in  these  notes ;  so  also  many  talks  by  our  native 
brethren  in  their  tents  and  in  village  huts,  and  which  extend 
to  midnight  and  later,  are  necessarily  omitted  in  so  brief  a 
record. 

2d.  The  very  important  question  will  now  arise  in  the 
minds  of  many:  "How  can  these  poor  people  acquire  an  ad- 
equate knowledge  of  the  gospel  before  their  baptism  ?  Are 
they  not  received  too  hastily?" 

To  this  very  proper  inquiry,  I  may  answer  that  for  thirty  years 
the  gospel  has  been  preached  in  this  part  of  our  field  by  our 
missionaries  and  educated  native  helpers  in  their  itinerations, 
the  districts  now  yielding  the  largest  returns  being  the  oldest 
ones,  in  which  the  greatest  amount  of  itinerant  preaching  has 
been  done.  '  And  whilst  for  many  years  the  good  seed  was 
sown  chiefly  upon  the  upper  strata  of  society,  some  of  it  found 


SOWING   AND    REAPING.  46 1 

its  way  through  to  the  "good  ground"  underneath.  When 
the  better  classes  of  the  natives  sat  before  us  to  hsten,  a  few  of 
the  poorer  were  generally  to  be  seen  standing  at  a  respectful 
distance  behind  them.  And  further,  during  the  last  eight  or 
ten  years,  special  pains  have  been  taken  in  itinerant  work  to 
reach  the  very  class  from  which  our  converts  are  now  the 
most  numerous. 

And  then,  our  native  lay  workers  are  frequently  sent  out 
over  the  field  unaccompanied  by  missionaries ;  these  ascertain 
where  a  spirit  of  inquiry  is  aroused,  repeat  their  visits,  teach 
the  inquirers,  and  report  such  cases — all  in  advance  of  the  mis- 
sionary's itinerations. 

Moreover,  these  people  when  converted  repeat  the  story  of 
the  gospel  to  others.  This  very  marked  and  interesting  fea- 
ture of  the  work  may  be  illustrated  by  the  following  beautiful 
incident:  Dr.  Martin  baptized  a  man  who  was  unable  to  read, 
as  is  the  case  with  nearly  all  of  these  lowly  people,  and  taught 
him  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Ten  Commandments,  and  the  twenty- 
third  Psalm.  The  convert  remaining  only  a  short  time  with 
Mr.  Martin,  went  away  and  was  not  seen  for  twelve  months. 
On  his  return,  Dr.  Martin  reproved  him  for  thus  going  away 
and  remaining  a  whole  year  where  he  could  receive  no  instruc- 
tion, and  added:  "I  suppose  you  have  entirely  forgotten  all 
that  I  taught  you." 

"No,"  replied  the  man,  "I  have  not  forgotten  it;"  and  to 
prove  this  he  recited  word  for  word  all  the  lessons  which  he 
had  learned  a  year  before.  Then  turning  to  a  neighbor  whom 
he  had  taught  all  that  he  himself  knew,  he  introduced  him  to 
Mr.  Martin,  saying:  "  He  has  learned  it  too."  This  new  dis- 
ciple then  repeated  the  Lord's  Prayer,  the  Ten  Commandments, 
and  the  twenty-third  Psalm.  The  unlearned  Christian,  though 
entrusted  with  but  a  single  talent,  instead  of  laying  it  up  in  a 
napkin  had  faithfully  used  it,  and  now  returned  it  with  good 
interest. 

In  another  instance  a  party  of  missionaries  found  more  than 
fifty  persons  ready  to  profess  their  faith  in  Christ.    On  making 


462  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

inquiry,  they  found  that  these  had  acquired  their  knowledge 
chiefly  from  two  Christians  whom  one  of  the  missionaries  had 
baptized  in  that  neighborhood  on  a  previous  itineration  only 
a  few  months  before.  These  illiterate  disciples,  though  una- 
ble to  read,  can  hear  and  understand.  They  cannot  distribute 
Bibles  and  tracts  among  their  unbelieving  neighbors,  but  they 
can  and  do  say  to  them,  "  Come."  This  is  what  we  under- 
stand by  the  "  leaven"  of  our  Lord's  parable.  Marvelously, 
indeed,  is  it  permeating  the  masses. 

And,  lastly,  these  converts  are  again  instructed  and  exam- 
ined by  an  ordained  minister,  native  or  foreign,  at  the  time  of 
their  admission  to  the  church. 

3d.  The  attainments  of  these  people  before  baptism  are 
necessarily  very  limited.  To  set  up  a  high  standard,  and  re- 
quire them  to  reach  it  before  admission,  would,  we  think,  be 
entirely  without  Scripture  example.  They  must  know  Jesus 
Christ  the  Son  of  God,  the  sinless  One,  and  the  only  Saviour 
of  sinners;  they  must  know  that  he  came  from  God,  became 
man,  laid  down  his  life  for  sinners,  and  now  welcomes  all,  even 
the  poorest  and  vilest,  to  come  to  him;  they  must  turn  their 
backs  upon  idols,  and  every  religion  but  that  of  Jesus,  heartily 
receiving  and  resting  upon  him  alone,  and  promising  obedience 
to  him.  If  we  are  satisfied  with  them  on  such  simple  points 
as  these,  we  think  it  our  duty  to  receive  them.  Some  think  a 
sinner  ought  to  acquire  a  great  amount  of  knowledge,  rise  to 
a  high  standard  of  good  character,  and  almost  attain  to  fitness 
for  heavenly  glory,  before  our  consent  to  his  admission  into  the 
school  of  Christ  here  below;  but  we  have  aimed  rather  at  the 
simplicity  and  promptness  of  Philip,  who  said:  "If  tJioji  believ- 
est  zvitli  all  thine  heart,  thou  niayest"  and  of  Paul,  by  whom  the 
jailor  "  ivas  baptized,  he  and  all  his,  straightzvay." 

4th.  Conversion  is  not  a  long  and  elaborate  process,  depend- 
ing necessarily  upon  intellectual  qualifications  difficult  to  ac- 
quire, but  short  and  simple.  It  does  not  require  learning 
and  knowledge  so  much  as  a  sense  of  sin,  and  a  willingness 
and  readiness  to  accept  the  unspeakable  gift.     It  is  thus  at- 


SOWING   AND    REAPING.  463 

tainable  by  the  poor  and  illiterate,  who  appear  to  accept  the 
gift  easily,  promptly  and  decidedly;  whilst  the  rich  hold  fast 
to  the  world,  and  the  learned  stand  by  their  logic. 

5th.  Those  whom  God  uses  to  convert  sinners  are  often  the 
humblest  of  laymen,  unlearned  and  ignorant,  filled  with  the 
Spirit.  Such  men  seem  well  adapted  to  the  work — so  far  as  it 
depends  upon  their  efforts.  The  most  illiterate  believer  can  tell 
unbelievers  the  story  of  the  gospel,  which,  accompanied  by 
the  Spirit  of  God,  leads  them  to  the  Saviour;  whilst  the 
learned  preacher,  apjiroaching  them  "with  excellency  of 
speech  or  of  wisdom,"  may  and  often  does  fail. 

6th.  Mr.  Lytle's  diary  reveals  many  imperfections  in  the 
converts  gathered  into  the  Church,  among  whom  are  to  be 
found  lukewarm,  worldly,  unconverted  members,  and  some 
whose  outward  lives  do  injury  to  the  Christian  cause.  We 
do  not  wish  to  make  the  impression  that  the  native  Church  is 
free  from  such  evils.  Why  should  we?  Imperfections  have 
pertained  to  the  human  side  of  God's  kingdom  in  the  world  in 
all  ages,  and  throughout  all  regions.  It  would  perhaps  be 
difficult  to  find  a  congregation  in  Christendom  without  its 
careless,  or  covetous,  or  even  its  unconverted  members. 
Churches  generally  have  many  members  who  do  little  for 
Christ,  and  but  few  earnest  and  active  workers.  Why,  then, 
should  we  expect  the  present  case  to  be  an  exception?  The 
proportion  of  drones  is  less,  and  that  of  disinterested  and  un- 
compensated laborers  greater,  among  our  poor  converts  than 
among  those  outwardly  more  highly  favored;  and  the  number 
of  converts  of  all  classes  who  give  decided  evidence  of  faith 
and  love  would,  I  truly  believe,  compare  favorably  with  their 
brethren  in  Christian  countries. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV. 


OUR    INSTITUTIONS. 


MY  original  design  was  to  say  little  about  our  missionary 
institutions,  limiting  my  narrative  chiefly  to  an  account 
of  direct  evangelistic  work  and  its  results,  especially  in  the 
great  religious  movements  among  the  Meg  and  CJmh'rd  tribes. 
Still,  though  sensible  of  my  inability  to  give  as  satisfactory  an 
account  of  them  as  could  some  of  the  other  members  of  our 
mission,  I  must,  for  the  sake  of  completeness  in  what  I  have 
undertaken,  add  to  what  has  already  been  said  of  some  of  our 
institutions  a  chapter  or  two  on  this  subject. 

Our  institutions  are  of  two  kinds — those  designed  to  aid  in 
spreading  the  gospel  among  the  heathen,  and  those  established 
for  the  building  up  of  the  Christians  after  their  conversion.  Of 
the  former  class,  after  omitting  the  orphanages — already  fully 
noticed  up  to  the  time  they  were  discontinued — I  have  yet  to 
make  a  brief  record  of  our  schools  for  non-Christian  boys  and 
girls  and  our  Zana'na  Hospital ;  and  of  the  latter — exclusive  of 
the  Industrial  School,  also  discontinued — I  will  speak  of  the 
day-schools  for  Christians,  the  Girls'  Boarding-school,  the 
Christian  Training  Institute,  and  the  Theological  Seminary. 

Boys'  Schools,  designed  mainly  to  aid  in  bringing  the  heathen 
to  Christ :  Missions  in  which  such  schools  are  prominent  are 
sometimes  spoken  of  as  educational  missions,  and  the  plan  of 
disseminating  the  gospel  by  means  of  them  is  styled  the  edu- 
cational method,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  evangelistic  method 
— the  more  direct  publishing  of  the  gospel  to  the  masses  in 
the  streets,  in  the  villages,  and  wherever  they  will  listen. 

Our  first  school  of  this  kind,  begun  in  the  city  of  Sial'kot  in 
1856,  with  its  thirty  little  boys,  its  primary  course  of  study, 

(464) 


boys'  schools.  465 

and  its  small  expenditure,  has  grown  until  its  scholars  number 
nearly  four  hundred,  whilst  the  course  of  study  has  been  raised, 
and  the  expense  proportionately  increased.  Our  Gujranwa'la 
boys'  school,  from  a  like  small  beginning  at  its  opening  in 
1868,  has  gradually  risen  in  importance  until,  with  its  seven 
hundred  scholars,  its  ten-year  curriculum,  and  its  thorough 
management,  it  ranks  among  the  foremost  literary  institutions 
in  the  province.  A  third  school  opened  in  the  city  of  Jhi'lam 
soon  after  that  station  was  permanently  occupied,  not  as  large 
as  either  of  the  others  just  mentioned,  was  closed  in  April, 
1883. 

In  order  to  make  these  schools  not  mere  educational  insti- 
tutions, but  thoroughly  and  distinctly  evangelistic  agencies, 
the  missionaries  have  made  it  the  rule  to  introduce  the  Bible 
as  a  text-book  from  the  very  beginning,  teaching  it  to  every 
class  and  giving  it  decided  prominence  in  the  course  of  study. 
They  have  always  opened  the  schools  daily  with  the  reading 
of  God's  word  and  with  prayer.  As  a  rule  the  teachers  and 
scholars  have  been  required  to  attend  the  Sabbath-school,  and 
to  be  present  at  public  worship  on  the  Sabbath.  In  addition 
to  all  this,  the  evidences  of  Christianity  have  been  thoroughly 
taught  to  the  advanced  classes  from  text-books  written  specially 
for  India. 

These  Bible  and  religious  studies  have  been  pursued  with 
decided  interest  by  the  boys,  whose  Bible  knowledge  in  many 
instances  has  been  so  thorough  that  they  would  doubtless 
compare  favorably  with  our  most  advanced  Sabbath-school 
classes  in  Christian  lands. 

This  Christian  training  of  the  sons  of  the  best  families  in 
central  and  influential  cities,  whence  they  go  forth  to  occupy 
prominent  places  in  the  legislative,  judicial,  and  executive  de- 
partments of  a  great  empire,  is  a  work  that  has  powerful 
charms  for  many  missionaries  in  India.  The  Government  of 
British  India,  having  itself  engaged  extensively  in  educational 
work  since  the  year  1853,  looks  with  favor  upon  mission 
schools,  because  of  the  secular  education  imparted  by  them, 


466  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

and  for  this  reason  affords  some  pecuniary  aid  to  the  mission 
in  carrying  them  on.  The  officers  of  the  Educational  Depart- 
ment of  Government  periodically  inspect  and  examine  the 
pupils  in  secular  studies  only ;  and  young  men  from  these  in- 
stitutions obtain  positions  in  Government  service  as  readily  as 

those  educated  in  Government  schools. 

» 

For  some  reason  our  mission  schools  for  boys — and  I  be- 
lieve the  same  thing  is  true  of  mission  schools  generally 
throughout  India — are  popular  with  the  natives  themselves ;  so 
much  so  that  where  they  stand  side  by  side  with  those  of  the 
Government,  charging  the  same  fees  and  teaching  the  same 
course  of  secular  studies,  more  scholars  are  attracted  to  them 
than  to  their  rivals,  the  Government  institutions,  and  that  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  Government  excludes  the  Bible 
from  its  text-books,  and  spends  money  upon  its  institutions  on 
a  more  liberal  scale  than  is  possible  with  the  missionaries. 

In  endeavoring  to  account  for  this  preference,  I  would  say: 
The  thoroughness,  faithfulness,  and  disinterestedness  of  the 
work  done  in  a  mission  school,  are  in  themselves  an  attraction. 
Then,  on  account  of  the  Bible  morality  taught  in  these  schools, 
they  are  seen  by  both  Hindus  and  Muhammadans  to  be  bet- 
ter than  those  of  the  Government,  which  afford  no  text-books 
on  morals.  Also,  many  of  the  boys  become  intensely  inter- 
ested in  Bible  studies  and  in  the  Christian  religion,  as  plainly 
appears  from  the  religious  interest  sometimes  awakened.  And 
I  may  add  that  a  Christian  missionary,  foreign  or  native,  man- 
. aging  such  a  school  in  a  Christian  manner,  naturally  attaches 
his  scholars  personally  to  himself  The  great  attraction,  how- 
>ever,  if  we  take  into  account  the  views  of  the  parents  as  well 
as  of  their  sons,  is  the  superior  secular  education  imparted, 
.and  the  lucrative  situations  thereby  secured. 

These  schools  have,  in  the  experience  of  our  own  mission, 
;resulted  in  very  few  conversions.  There  has  often  been  a  re- 
.ligious  interest,  but  rarely  have  any  of  the  boys  confessed 
'.Christ  before  their  fellow-men.  Year  after  year,  these  thirty 
years,  with  a  few  exceptions,  the  sad  record  has  been  made: 


boys'  schools.  467 

"  No  boys  from  our  school  baptized  during  the  past  year." 
Some  of  our  missionaries  would  be  willing  to  discontinue  this 
method  of  labor;  whilst  others,  notwithstanding  the  meagre- 
ness  of  immediate  visible  results,  are  willing  to  continue  it  in 
the  faith  that  it  will  yield  a  great  harvest  in  the  future.  Hav- 
ing myself  never  been  very  favorable  to  the  educational 
method,  and  having  had  but  limited  experience  in  the  same, 
my  own  views  are  not  to  be  trusted  as  a  fair  and  full  represen- 
tation of  the  sentiments  of  our  mission  on  this  subject;  I  there- 
fore here  insert  at  length  the  views  of  the  Rev.  J.  P.  McKee, 
under  whose  management  the  Gujranwa'la  Boys'  School  has 
in  the  past  fourteen  years  become  a  grand  success,  eliciting 
very  flattering  notices  from  the  Educational  Department  of  the 
British  Indian  Government.  Mr.  McKee,  in  his  report  at  the 
close  of  1884,  says: 

"Our  school  as  an  educational  institution  was  never  more 
successful  than  it  has  been  during  the  year  under  review 
[1884].  The  students  of  our  school  took  more  places  of  honor 
at  the  University  Entrance  Examination  than  the  students  of 
all  the  other  mission  schools  in  the  Punjab'  put  together,  if  we 
except  a  Mission  College  that  is  located  at  Delhi ;  and  at  the 
Middle  School  Examination,  which  is  also  conducted  by  the 
University,  our  school  stood  at  the  head  of  mission  schools. 
The  Government  Inspector  in  his  last  report  says:  'The  Guj- 
ranwa'la  Mission  School  stands  among  the  first  mission  schools 
of  the  province,  if  not  the  very  first.' 

"  The  present  standing  of  the  school  is  gratifying,  and  the 
Inspector's  notice  of  it  is  flattering,  but  honesty  compels  us  to 
report  another  feature  of  it  that  is  not  so  encouraging :  During 
the  past  year  there  has  not  been  a  single  convert  from  among 
the  students.  This  is  discouraging  when  we  consider  the 
amount  of  religious  teaching  and  preaching  and  lecturing  that 
has  been  done  in  the  school.  There  has  been  a  good  deal  of 
interest  manifested  by  the  students  in  regard  to  the  truth,  but 
we  can  see  no  evidence  of  any  one  desiring  to  receive  Him 
who  is  the  truth.  Now  if  this  state  of  things  in  the  school 
proves  it  a  failure  as  an  evangelizing  agency,  it  proves  too  that 
the  school  itself  is  a  failure;  for  it  is  for  evangelizing  purposes 
that  it  exists ;  and  if  a  failure  it  ought  to  be  closed.  That 
such  schools  should  be  closed  is  the  opinion  of  some  whose 


4^8  *  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

opinions  should  not  be  thrown  aside  without  careful  consider- 
ation. However,  I  must  say  that  I  hold  an  opinion  differing 
widely  from  this.  It  is  true  that  if  nothing  is  a  success  but 
what  brings  converts  into  the  Church  at  once,  mission  schools 
are  failures.  But  I  hold  that  we  are  not  so  much  to  look  at 
what  will  bring  individuals  into  the  Church  as  what  will  bring 
India  as  a  whole  to  Christ.  In  my  opinion  the  great  barriers 
at  the  present  to  the  spread  of  Christianity  in  India  are  the  ig- 
norance in  regard  to  it,  the  prejudice  against  it,  and  the  oppo- 
sition to  it  on  the  part  of  the  parents. 

"  The  boys  and  girls  of  to-day  who  are  reading  in  mission 
schools  will  be  the  fathers  and  mothers  of  the  next  generation, 
and  will  be  well  acquainted  with  Christianity  and  its  claims, 
having  no  prejudice  against  it  except  what  arises  from  the 
natural  heart.  Schools  are  doing  much  to  make  the  saving 
truth  known  among  the  heathen;  they  are  doing  much  I  think 
to  destroy  prejudice  against  Jesus  as  the  Saviour,  and  to  dis- 
arm opposition  to  the  spread  of  the  Christian  religion;  and  this 
kind  of  work  I  believe  will  be  abundantly  rewarded  in  the 
future.  It  is  true  that  the  Church  shall  have  to  wait  for  this 
reward,  perhaps  until  this  generation  will  have  passed  away. 
But  the  life  of  a  nation  and  of  a  Church  is  long,  and  they  can 
well  afford  to  wait  if  the  reward  is  to  be  rich,  and  in  this  case 
I  have  faith  that  it  will  be  so. 

^'Schools  are  doing  a  good  work  that  other  departments  from 
the  nature  of  things  cannot  do.  They  are  enlightening  minds 
that  cannot  be  otherwise  reached  in  regard  to  the  claims  of 
(Christianity,  and  are  presenting  the  Christian  religion  in  a  much 
more  lovely  form  than  we  are  able  to  do  in  the  bazar  and  meld 
with  our  necessarily  polemic  preaching.  In  the  schools  we 
have  also  a  wide  range,  as  we  meet  the  people  there  from  the 
highest  to  the  lowest,  whereas,  in  the  bazar  and  mela  we  are 
listened  to  only  by  the  middle  and  lower  classes.  In  the 
schools  also  we  deal  with  minds  that  are  able  to  weigh  evi- 
dence, and  that  will  mould  society  for  coming  generations ; 
and  it  would,  I  fear,  be  a  sad  mistake  for  us  to  neglect  any  op- 
portunity we  can  possibly  find  to  cast  these  minds  in  the  mould 
of  Christian  truth  and  purity.  That  the  gospel  should  be  given 
to  the  poor  is  no  argument  or  reason  for  neglecting  others. 

"  I  would  not  wish  to  be  understood  as  putting  school  work 
before  preaching,  nor  even  on  a  level  with  it;  but  I  think  it  is 
far  too  important  a  work  for  the  Church  to  abandon  now,  or 
even  in  the  near  future.     I  know  and  feel  that  there  is  a  great 


boys'  schools.  469 

temptation  to  abandon  the  school  work  for  preaching.  Every 
church  is  demanding  results  from  her  missions,  and  considers 
there  is  something  wrong  in  her  workers  if  results  are  not 
forthcoming.  Now  it  is  an  admitted  fact  that  nearly  all  the 
converts  from  heathenism  are  the  result  of  the  direct  preach- 
ing of  the  Word;  very  few,  indeed,  could  be  claimed  by  the 
schools;  and  this  has  a  tendency  to  make  missionaries  betake 
themselves  to  the  work  that  will  produce  the  thing  demanded, 
sometimes  to  the  neglect  of  other  important  matters.  And 
again,  there  is  a  desire,  a  strong  desire,  in  most  men,  to  see 
some  fruit  of  their  life's  labor  while  yet  in  the  flesh,  and  this 
almost  universal  desire  has  a  tendency  to  make  men  abandon 
school  work  whose  fruit  must  be  in  the  distant  future,  for  that 
kind  of  work  which  will  yield  immediate  results,  and  we  dare 
not  censure  those  who  do  so ;  but  I  must  honor  the  man  who 
can  labor  away  in  mission  schools,  and  look  for  the  fruit  of  his 
labor  to  a  generation  that  will  come  after  he  has  left  this  stage 
of  action.  There  are  men  in  India  who  have  spent  their  lives 
in  mission  schools  and  have  seen  little  fruit  result  from  their 
labor,  and  are  we  to  conclude  their  lives  have  been  a  failure? 
Some  come  to  such  conclusion,  but  I  am  persuaded  this  is 
very  far  from  being  correct." 

In  conclusion,  I  will  give  briefly  some  views  urged  on  the 
other  side  of  the  school  question:  First,  viewing  the  subject 
practically,  we  find  that  scarcely  any  souls  have  been  converted 
as  the  result  of  this  method,  whereas  many  are  being  converted 
by  the  direct  preaching  of  the  word ;  it  is  therefore  better  to 
work  by  the  method  which  receives  the  blessing — to  cast  in 
our  nets  where  the  fish  are  likely  to  be  caught.  Second,  look- 
ing at  it  from  a  military  standpoint,  the  educating  of  men  is 
like  the  drilling  of  soldiers.  If  a  British  officer  should  enter 
Russian  territory,  there  to  drill  an  army  of  Russians,  in  the 
hope  that  some  of  them  would  enlist  and  fight  loyally  for  the 
Queen  of  England,  we  would  all  pronounce  his  course  unwise, 
and  say  that  he  had  better  enlist  them  first  and  drill  them 
afterwards.  So  men  should  be  first  enlisted  under  Christ's 
banner,  and  tJien  trained  up  to  power  and  efficiency  in  our  in- 
stitutions of  learning.  Third,  contemplating  the  subject  scrip- 
turally — "  It  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching  to 
save  them  that  believe." 


470  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

True,  the  gospel  is  preached  in  these  schools;  I  can  myself 
testify  that  some  of  the  most  enjoyable  preaching  intellectually 
that  I  have  ever  done,  was  to  the  appreciative  audiences  com- 
posed of  the  hundreds  of  educated  boys  and  youths  in  our 
mission  schools;  but  the  school  \.qo\^  the  "foolishness"  out  of 
my  preaching,  and  made  it  savor  of  the  "  wisdom  "  which  the 
Greeks  seek  after,  and  it  failed  to  be  the  power  of  God  unto 
salvation  to  my  hearers.  The  educational  method  of  bringing 
sinners  to  Christ  favors  the  doctrine  that  literary  and  intellec- 
tual attainments  are  necessary  prerequisites  to  their  coming  to 
him  for  salvation.  An  opinion  very  much  like  this  is  widely 
entertained  by  the  natives,  many  believing  that  book  learning 
is  a  necessary  antecedent  to  entering  upon  the  way  of  ever- 
lasting life ;  but  this  seems  clearly  disproved  in  the  first  chap- 
ter of  First  Corinthians,  from  the  20th  verse  to  the  end. 

Finally,  in  reference  to  bringing  the  whole  of  India,  and  I 
may  add  the  whole  world,  to  Christ,  is  it  not  the  best  way  to 
begin  with  individuals,  some  of  whom  will  on  their  conversion 
tell  the  glad  tidings  to  others — like  the  woman  of  Samaria, 
whose  report  led  "  many  of  the  Samaritans"  to  believe  ?  And 
if  we  patiently  persevere  in  thus  spreading  the  gospel  leaven, 
encouraging  every  new  convert  to  go  and  do  likewise,  and 
trusting  to  the  Holy  Spirit's  influence,  shall  we  not  by  and  by 
see  the  whole  lump  leavened  ? 

A  large  share  of  the  expense  of  our  Gujranwa'la  Boys' 
School  is  met  by  the  fees  regularly  paid  in  by  the  scholars ; 
and  it  is  the  opinion  of  Brother  McKee  that  the  day  is  not  far 
distant  when  these  fees,  together  with  the  aid  afforded  by  the 
Government,  will  defray  the  whole  expense,  without  being 
supplemented  by  mission  funds. 

Girls'  Schools,  designed  mainly  to  bring  the  gospel  to  the 
native  women,  both  directly  in  the  schools  themselves,  and 
indirectly  by  opening  up  and  preparing  the  way  for  Zana'na 
work: 

The  Government  of  India  has  done  much  for  the  education 
of  boys,  and  little  for  that  of  girls;  and  strange  as  it  may  seem, 


GIRLS     SCHOOLS.  4/1 

some  of  our  most  devoted  Christian  educators  could  wish  that  it 
had  done  even  less  than  it  has  for  the  education  of  either  of  the 
sexes.  The  neutral  policy  of  the  Government  in  regard  to  re- 
ligion is  interpreted  to  exclude  the  Bible  from  Government 
schools,  and  as  far  as  possible  reject  its  light  from  their  course 
of  instruction.  Science  is  freely  taught  in,  these  schools,  by 
which  the  old  religions  of  the  country  are  undermined — this 
being,  doubtless,  quite  consistent  with  the  neutral  policy — 
whilst  a  new  religion  is  not  offered  to  take  the  place  of  the  old 
one.  A  natural  result  of  this  is  a  large  and  increasing  num- 
ber of  educated  natives  having  no  religion — mere  atheists. 
Even  the  heathen  parents  themselves  abhor  the  thought  of 
their  sons  and  daughters  becoming  be-d'in  (without  religion), 
and  prefer,  as  some  have  said,  their  children  to  remain  igno- 
rant, or  to  become  Christians,  rather  than  to  deny  the  existence 
of  God.  These  facts  furnish  one  of  the  strongest  arguments 
in  favor  of  Christian  vernacular  education  for  both  boys  and 
girls. 

In  favor  of  the  education  of  girls,  there  are  special  consid- 
erations : 

The  close  seclusion  in  which  many  of  them  live,  keeps  them 
in  a  state  of  ignorance — almost  slavery — and  perpetuates  their 
superstitions.  They  cannot,  like  their  brothers,  go  out  to  hear 
the  gospel,  nor  can  the  missionary  carry  it  to  their  homes; 
they  have  no  prospect  of  earning  money  by  means  of  an  edu- 
cation, as  have  the  boys,  and  their  parents  do  not  care  that 
they  should  be  taught;  and  being  unable  to  read,  they  cannot, 
like  many  of  the  other  sex,  learn  the  glad  tidings  of  a  Saviour 
through  Bibles  and  tracts,  should  these  even  find  the  way  into- 
their  secluded  homes.  Their  isolation  and  ignorance  together- 
thus  prove  a  most  effectual  barrier  between  them  and  the  light.. 
At  the  same  time  the  influence  of  a  heathen  mother,  in  mould- 
ing the  moral  and  religious  character  of  her  children,  is  su- 
preme. In  Christian  countries  the  father,  who  meets  his  chil- 
dren at  least  around  his  table  at  meal  time,  takes  some  part  in 
their  training;  but  in  heathen  India,  where  his  food  is  eaten^ 


472  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

his  company  entertained,  and  his  amusements  and  pastime  en- 
joyed apart  from  the  female  members  of  his  household,  he 
leaves  the  little  ones  to  the  mother,  who  thus  becomes  the 
moulder  of  their  tender  minds,  and  the  strongest  supporter  of 
India's  false  religions — and  that  mainly  because  of  her  seclu- 
sion and  ignorance.  Painfully  indeed  did  the  missionary  view 
this  almost  hopeless  bondage  of  poor  India's  benighted 
mothers  and  daughters,  searching  eagerly  for  some  way  to 
break  through  the  barriers,  and  let  in  upon  them  that  light 
which  alone  could  set  them  free.  Girls'  schools,  chiefly  within 
the  last  twenty  years,  have  been  established  with  this  grand 
object  in  view,  the  immediate  aim  being,  not  to  give  the  girls 
a  high  secular  education,  but  to  teach  them  to  read,  place  the 
Bible  in  their  hands,  bring  them  into  contact  with  Christian 
influence  in  the  school,  and  through  the  school  to  introduce 
to  the  zand'na  the  living  Christian  worker  with  her  Bible. 

When  in  1868  our  sisters  entered  upon  this  work — a  work 
which  men  could  not  accomplish — they  did  so  fully  aware  of 
the  formidable  difficulties  in  their  way,  well  knowing  that  the 
girls  themselves,  unlike  their  brothers,  were  far  below  the 
point  of  desiring  an  education ;  whilst  the  parents  looked  upon 
it  as  not  only  unprofitable,  but  a  positive  evil — tending  to  ren- 
der their  daughters  lazy,  talkative  and  insubordinate;  but  they, 
nevertheless,  undertook  the  work  with  the  clear  conviction  that 
the  gross  ignorance  and  superstition  of  the  native  women  were 
the  greatest  existing  hindrances  to  the  progress  of  the  gospel, 
and  must  if  possible  be  removed.  At  the  same  time  the  mis- 
sion expressed  the  hope  that  in  India,  as  in  other  lands,  the 
gospel  would  yet  meet  with  its  greatest  success  among  the 
women,  and  hailed  with  delight  the  fresh  interest  in  this  branch 
of  the  work  then  springing  up  in  the  church  at  home,  result- 
ing in  the  sending  out  of  two  more  female  missionaries  after  a 
delay  of  fifteen  long  years. 

Connected  with  our  girls'  schools  in  Gujranwa'la  have  been 
the  names  of  Mrs.  Barr,  Mrs.  G.  W.  Scott  (deceased).  Miss  E. 
Calhoun,  Miss  C.  E.  Wilson,  Mrs.  McKee,  and  others ;  in  Sial'- 


girls'  schools.  473 

kot  the  names  of  Miss  E.  G.  Gordon,  Mrs.  Eleanor  Gordon, 
Miss  McCahon,  and  others;  and  in  Jhi'larn  those  of  Mrs.  Bose, 
widowed  daughter  of  the  Rev.  E.  P.  Swift,  and  Miss  E.  D. 
Anderson.  These  all  have  faithfully  performed  a  great  amount 
of  difficult  work,  which,  though  not  attended  with  much  dis- 
play, is  none  the  less  important,  and  doubtless  acceptable  to  the 
Master.  I  will  here  give  a  short  account  of  the  rise  and  pro- 
gress of  the  oldest  of  these  schools  only — those  of  Gujranwa'la, 
briefly  alluding  elsewhere  to  those  of  other  stations. 

In  opening  girls'  schools  in  Gujranwa'la  a  great  difficulty  met 
at  the  threshold  was  the  utter  repugnance  of  native  parents  to 
allowing  their  daughters  to  go  abroad,  it  being  thought  highly 
improper  for  girls,  above  eight  years  of  age,  to  venture  unac- 
companied outside  of  their  homes ;  how  then  could  they  be 
gathered  into  schools  ? 

Miss  Calhoun  met  this  difficulty  by  the  aid  of  a  time-honored 
custom,  which  permitted  poor  widows  to  go  about  the  streets 
in  search  of  food  and  employment,  whilst  the  people  counted 
it  not  only  a  duty  but  a  work  of  merit  to  aid  them  in  procur- 
ing a  precarious  livelihood.  A  number  of  these  widows — one 
for  each  little  school — were  hired  to  go  daily  to  the  families  in 
their  respective  districts  and  gather  the  girls  into  the  school. 
For  this  service  each  widow  was  paid  eighty  cents  a  month, 
which  was  at  least  as  much  as  she  could  expect  from  her  chari- 
table heathen  neighbors.  A  widow  thus  supported  begged  of 
the  parents  as  a  personal  favor  to  allow  their  daughters  to 
accompany  her  a  few  hours  daily  to  a  school  opened  in  the 
neighborhood,  while  she  made  herself  responsible  for  the  girls 
during  their  absence  from  home.  These  widows  are  styled 
"  callers,"  and  are  a  necessary  part  of  a  girls'  school. 

In  order  to  succeed  it  was  necessary  to  employ  teachers  of 
the  same  religion  with  the  parents,  and  bearing,  in  the  estima- 
tion of  the  same,  an  unblemished  moral  character,  and  to  se- 
cure school-rooms  located  in  retired  streets  near  the  homes  of 
the  scholars. 

Teachers  and  scholars,  callers  and  school-rooms,  having  been 


474  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

secured,  ten  schools,  with  an  average  of  thirty  girls  in  each, 
were  opened  in  the  city  of  Gujranwa'la,  and  the  task  was  en- 
tered upon  of  training  inexperienced  teachers,  keeping  them 
and  the  callers  at  their  work,  and  imparting  religious  instruc- 
tion in  these  many  places  widely  scattered  over  the  city.  But 
the  girls  refused  to  receive  a  book  from  the  hand  of  the  mis- 
sionary; it  must  first  be  laid  upon  the  ground  until  purified 
from  her  touch,  then  only  would  they  deign  to  pick  it  up. 
They  would  not  touch  her  person  or  dress,  nor  allow  her  to 
touch  them.  The  Hindu  girls  would  not  sit  on  a  mat  or  car- 
pet any  part  of  which  was  occupied  either  by  the  missionary 
or  by  one  of  their  Muhammadan  school-mates.  If  any  gentle- 
man should  visit  the  school,  the  girls  would  immediately  be 
withdrawn  by  their  parents.  It  was  regarded  as  immodest  for 
the  girls  to  learn  to  sing ;  and,  finally,  the  custom  of  marrying 
at  a  very  early  age  generally  removed  the  girls  from  school 
before  they  could  do  much  more  than  learn  to  read.  In  short, 
the  rulers  of  darkness  seemed  in  every  possible  way  to  have 
barred  out  the  light  from  the  female  portion  of  the  population. 
In  view  of  the  shortness  of  the  period  during  which  the  girls 
were  permitted  by  their  parents  to  attend  school,  the  New 
Testament  was  placed  in  their  hands  as  soon  as  they  were  able 
to  spell  out  the  words,  and  easy  Scripture  lessons,  such  as  the 
Lord's  Prayer  and  the  Ten  Commandments,  were  taught  orally 
to  the  younger  scholars  before  they  were  able  to  read. 

By  the  divine  blessing  on  the  patient,  prayerful  and  perse- 
vering efforts — specially  of  Miss  Calhoun  and  Miss  Wilson — 
many  of  the  obstacles,  which  at  first  appeared  formidable,  have 
been  gradually  and  entirely  overcome,  and  this  branch  of  work 
in  Gujranvva'la  has  reached  a  very  prosperous  and  satisfactory 
condition.  The  girls  now  love  their  lady  teachers,  and  regard 
their  touch  quite  as  pure  as  that  of  their  own  mothers;  Hindu 
'and  Muhammadan  girls,  and  their  Christian  teachers,  all  sit  on 
the  same  mat.  Missionary  and  other  gentlemen  freely  visit 
the  schools,  listen  to  the  singing,  and  catechise  the  girls  on 
their  studies,  both  religious  and  secular,  whilst  the  parents  per- 


girls'  schools.  475 

mit  their  children  to  attend  school  for  a  longer  period  than  at 
the  first. 

Not  satisfied  with  this,  the  lady  missionaries  have  under- 
taken work  still  more  aggressive,  with  a  success  which  has  ex- 
cited the  admiration  of  many  visitors.  Believing  that  the 
highest  moral  effect  on  the  girls,  and  especially  on  the  com- 
munity of  Gujranwa'la,  could  not  be  attained  by  ten  or  twelve 
small  isolated  schools  distributed  over  the  city,  they  sought  to 
assemble  all  the  girls,  at  least  occasionally,  in  some  central 
place.  But  how  could  such  a  thing  possibly  be  done  when 
parents  were  so  timid  about  sending  their  daughters  to  private 
school-rooms  only  a  few  steps  from  home?  And  supposing 
this  difficulty  to  be  removed,  how  could  a  suitable  hall  be  se- 
cured?— for  girls'  schools  had  not  risen  to  sufficient  importance 
to  be  allowed  anything  better  than  open  sheds  and  courts  in 
which  to  meet;  or  if  driven  from  these  by  rain  or  heat,  they 
could  only  avail  themselves  of  small  dark  native  rooms,  with- 
out proper  ventilation,  constructed  in  the  form  of  a  clay  box 
with  an  open  side  turned  downwards,  having  a  solitary  small 
opening  at  one  side  for  ingress  and  egress.  But  when  women 
undertake  a  good  work,  trusting  in  God — and  they  are  more 
apt  to  trust  him  than  are  those  of  the  stronger  sex —  they  are 
pretty  sure  to  succeed.  A  desirable  site  was  first  secured  in  a 
central  part  of  the  city,  upon  which  a  suitable  building  has 
been  erected.  Into  the  commodious  apartments  of  this  build- 
ing the  teachers  and  callers  of  the  ten  schools  were  first  per- 
suaded to  assemble  on  Saturdays  for  Bible  study.  Then  they 
were  prevailed  upon  to  bring  with  them  their  more  advanced 
scholars.  Next  they  began  to  attend  these  Saturday  meetings 
accompanied  by  their  entire  schools.  And  finally  a  higher 
school  was  organized  at  the  central  building,  to  which  girls 
from  the  lower  schools,  when  sufficiently  advanced,  were  pro- 
moted, to  the  aggregate  number  of  about  fifty  a  year. 

The  results  of  these  labors  in  Gujranwa'la,  so  far  as  realized, 
are  given  quite  recently  by  Miss  Wilson  as  follows:  "The 
fruits  of  our  work,"  she  says, "  are  as  yet  not  apparent  in  many 


47^  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

converts,  but  in  other  respects  are  very  gratifying.  There  is 
now  a  strong  desire  for  education  among  the  women  and  girls 
of  Gujranwa'la,  which  will  not  be  suppressed;  old  prejudices 
against  us  and  our  religion  are  removed ;  we  have  the  confi- 
dence of  all  classes,  who  believe  that  we  desire  their  highest 
good.  These  schools  have  opened  the  way  for  the  visitation 
of  three  hundred  zand'nas  in  Gujranwa'la,  whose  inmates  are 
now  either  learning  to  read,  or  listening  to  the  gospel  as 
taught  by  Miss  McCullough  and  her  two  assistants;  the  Bible 
is  believed  and  its  truths  treasured  up  in  the  hearts  of  many 
of  our  pupils,  hundreds  of  whom  have  acquired  a  good  knowl- 
edge of  the  Scriptures,  which  are  able  to  make  them  wise  unto 
salvation;  and  when  their  husbands*  are  prepared  to  come 
out  and  confess  Christ,  these  girls,  instead  of  deserting  their 
husbands  and  mourning  them  as  dead,  will  be  ready  to  come 
out  with  them,  rejoicing  in  the  privilege." 

A  school  for  girls  of  the  ChuJi'rd  caste  was  opened  in  Guj- 
ranwa'la,  in  which  Miss  Calhoun  and  Miss  Wilson  became 
deeply  interested,  a  number  of  the  scholars  soon  learning  to 
read  the  New  Testament,  and  showing  a  decided  preference 
for  it  above  other  books.  The  following  incident  will  serve  as 
an  illustration:  Miss  Wilson  having  given  one  of  the  girls  a 
book  on  natural  history,  asked  her  some  days  after  how  she 
liked  it.  The  girl,  not  wishing  to  offend  her  teacher,  hesitated 
for  a  while  to  answer  Miss  Wilson's  inquiry,  and  then  said : 
"This  book  is  of  no  account;  it  is  all  monkey,  monkey,  and 
not  God's  word." 

Oicr  Zan'd'na  Hospital  in  Gurdds'piir. —  This  hospital  for 
women  and  children,  established  for  the  same  general  object 
as  the  schools  just  noticed,  and  a  much  younger  institution,  will 
now  be  briefly  noticed;  but  I  must  not  forget  to  introduce 
Mrs.  Johnson  and  Miss  Gordon,  who  established  and  carried 
on  our  only  institution  of  the  kind. 

Mrs.  S.  E.  Johnson,  whose  maiden  name  was  Sophia  Eliza 

*  It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  betrothal  of  girls  in  India  at  a  very  early 
age,  has  the  same  binding  force  as  marriage  with  us. 


MRS.  SOPHIA    E.  JOHNSON. 


zana'na  hospital,  477 

Watson,  was  born  of  Christian  Eurasian  parents  at  BareTi,  In- 
dia, on  the  1 6th  of  March,  1852.  She  was  educated  at  the 
Boarding  School  of  the  American  Presbyterian  Mission  in 
Deh'ra,  and  at  the  Mussoorie  school,  serving  afterwards  in  the 
former  as  an  assistant  teacher  for  two  years.  At  the  age  of 
sixteen  she  made  a  public  profession  of  religion,  uniting  with 
the  church  at  Deh'ra,  under  the  pastoral  care  of  the  Rev.  R.  S. 
FuUerton.  Her  interest  in  the  mission  work  was  evinced  by 
her  collecting  a  considerable  portion  of  the  building  fund  for 
a  mission  church  in  Gurdas'pur,  visiting  for  this  purpose 
several  principal  cities  in  the  Panjab'  at  her  own  expense. 
Subsequently,  on  the  ist  of  February,  1877,  she  was  employed 
at  the  Gurdas'pur  station  as  a  Zana'na  worker. 

Miss  Euphie  E.  Gordon  was  born  at  Sial'kot,  India,  on  the 
1 2th  of  February,  1858,  where  she  learned  to  read  without  en- 
joying the  advantage  of  a  regular  school.  Accompanying  her 
parents  to  America  early  in  1865,  she  attended  school  two 
years  in  Belmont  county,  Ohio,  and  a  like  period  in  Philadel- 
phia, after  which  she  pursued  her  studies  in  Cedar  Rapids, 
Iowa,  nearly  completing  the  course  at  the  High  School.  Then 
she  returned  with  her  parents  to  India,  sailing  from  Philadel- 
phia, with  others  already  mentioned,  on  the  7th  of  October, 
and  arriving  at  Gujranwa'la  on  the  loth  of  December,  1875. 
After  arriving  in  India,  a  few  years  were  devoted  to  teaching 
her  younger  sister  and  brother,  and  acquiring  the  Hindustani 
and  Panjab'i  languages.  Then,  after  assisting  Mrs.  Johnson 
for  a  time  in  her  mission  work,  she  was  appointed  a  mission- 
ary by  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  from  the  ist  of  January, 
1881. 

Mrs.  Johnson  began  Zand'na  work  by  visiting  the  sick, 
Bible  and  medicine  in  hand,  ministering  to  the  relief  of  sufferers 
in  simple  cases  requiring  no  professional  skill.  On  one  of  her 
visits  to  the  sick  in  Na'bipur,  a  village  near  Gurdas'pur,  Em'- 
na,  a  daughter  of  the  Lambardar,  became  personally  attached 
to  her,  and  being  a  fair  scholar,  undertook  to  gather  the  girls 
ofher  village  together   for  the  purpose  of  teaching  them.     In 


47^  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

this  little  school  Mrs.  Johnson  and  Miss  Gordon,  in  addition 
to  teaching  the  Bible  daily  to  the  girls  and  women  of  the  vil- 
lage, organized  a  Sabbath-school.  Within  two  years  Em'na 
and  another  Muhammadan  young  woman,  Fa'zal  Bi'b'i,  pro- 
fessed themselves  Christians,  upon  which  the  Muhammadan 
relatives  and  acquaintances,  far  and  near,  became  greatly  en- 
raged, threatening  us  with  violence,  and  in  one  instance  mak- 
ing an  unprovoked  assault  upon  an  innocent  man  who  had  no 
connection  whatever  with  these  conversions,  except  that  he 
was  a  Christian,  and  who  lived  some  dozen  miles  distant  from 
Na'bipur.  The  little  school  was  broken  up,  and  Em'na,  yield- 
ing to  the  influence  of  her  relatives,  apostatized. 

This  excitement  having  died  away,  twelve  months  later,  on 
the  occasion  of  Fa'zal  Bi'bi's  marriage  to  a  son  of  Mr.  Clem- 
ent, all  the  honorable  native  gentlemen  of  Gurdas'pur,  both 
Hindus  and  Muhammadans,  attended  the  wedding,  the  latter 
seating  themselves  at  the  same  table  with  Christians,  whilst 
the  former  merely  asked  us  to  gratify  them  by  permitting  their 
dainties  to  be  served  them  in  a  separate  room,  at  the  hands 
of  a  Hindu  attendant — all  this  going  to  illustrate  the  manner 
in  which  prejudices  are  retreating  before  the  forward  march  of 
Christian  light. 

Early  in  the  year  1880,  two  doors  east  of  our  church  in 
Gurdas'pur,  a  dozen  small  rooms  with  a  court  in  the  centre, 
built  of  sun-dried  clay,  and  used  formerly  as  the  zand'na  of  a 
native  gentleman,  was  secured  by  us  at  the  small  rental  of  two 
dollars  and  forty  cents  a  month,  with  the  design  of  opening  a 
girls'  school.  To  the  establishing  of  this  school  the  citizens 
were  most  heartily  agreed,  provided  the  Bible  shoidd  be  excluded. 
As  we  could  not  agree  to  exclude  the  Book  of  books,  the  pro- 
ject was  abandoned. 

As  Mrs.  Johnson  and  Miss  Gordon  considered  the  various 
methods  adopted  for  reaching  the  women  of  India,  they  de- 
cided upon  the  plan  of  carrying  relief  to  the  poor  sufferers  as 
the  best.  Was  there  not  a  loud  call  for  such  a  work  of  mercy 
among  the  poor,  ignorant,  superstitious  women,  trusting   to 


zana'na  hospital.  479 

their  mercenary  priests  and  silly  charms,  and  among  the 
wealthy  secluded  women  who  would  suffer  and  die  rather  than 
be  visited  by  a  doctor?  Would  not  the  kind  hand  that  re- 
lieves distress  be  welcomed  in  every  afflicted  home?  Would 
not  the  loving  and  compassionate  healer  effectually  commend 
to  the  relieved  sufferer  the  love  of  the  compassionate  Saviour 
himself?  And  did  not  Jesus  go  about  all  the  cities  and  vil- 
lages, preaching  the  gospel  and  healing  every  sickness  and 
every  disease  among  the  people,  commanding  his  disciples  to 
do  the  same?  These  and  such  like  considerations  having 
been  duly  weighed,  the  same  rooms  which  had  been  leased  for 
a  school  were  fitted  up  for  a  hospital,  with  its  dispensing  room, 
sick  wards,  kitchen  and  bath ;  beds  and  bedding  for  the  accom- 
modation of  ten  patients  were  procured,  a  stock  of  medicine 
and  other  hospital  requisites  were  purchased,  and  on  the  17th 
of  September,  1880,  the  Zand' na  Hospital  was  opened  for  the 
admission  of  patients  and  the  dispensing  of  medicines.  The 
sick  came  from  the  city  and  surrounding  villages,  eagerly 
seeking  for  the  hospital,  which  required  no  advertising — not 
even  a  sign  at  the  door — until  the  number  was  as  great  as 
could  well  be  accommodated. 

Devotional  exercises  were  conducted  in  the  hospital  daily, 
and  a  Sabbath-school  was  organized,  both  of  which  were  vol- 
untarily attended  by  the  inmates,  who  often  manifested  special 
satisfaction  at  hearing  their  own  names  mentioned  in  prayer. 

A  yearly  average  of  over  one  hundred  patients,  gradually  in- 
creasing from  year  to  year,  received  treatment  in  the  hospital, 
besides  an  average  of  two  thousand  more  who  merely  received 
medicines  and  treatment  at  the  dispensing  room. 

These  patients,  from  city  and  village,  rich  and  poor,  and 
whether  living  in  seclusion  or  otherwise,  after  the  kind  treat- 
ment they  had  received,  were  found  ever  ready  to  open  their 
doors  to  those  who  had  relieved  their  bodily  ailments,  now 
when  they  came  to  visit  them  with  Bible  in  hand.  Among 
the  zand'nas  opened  by  this  means  were  some  in  regard  to 
which  other  methods  had  lonsf  been  tried  in  vain — even  men 


480  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

noted  for  their  public  opposition  to  the  gospel,  on  seeing  their 
suffering  wives  and  daughters  relieved  of  their  painful  and 
dangerous  maladies,  gratefully  welcoming  to  their  sand'nas  the 
missionary,  their  benefactress,  with  her  Bible. 

From  among  the  patients  two  young  women  professed  their 
faith  in  Christ  and  were  baptized;  and  a  poor  old  woman  pro- 
fessing a  desire  to  receive  baptism,  was  only  prevented  from 
doing  so  by  her  relatives  removing  her,  though  afterwards 
turning  her  out  to  beg  or  starve.  Of  the  indirect  beneficial 
results  of  this  institution,  I  may  mention  the  fact  that  every 
woman  treated  in  the  hospital  learns  so^nething  about  cleanli- 
ness and  the  care  of  the  sick.  So  wretchedly  ignorant  are 
they  in  regard  to  these  important  matters,  that  even  after  a 
few  days  of  hospital  life  they  carry  away  a  treasure  of  new 
ideas,  which  can  scarcely  fail  to  bring  comparative  health  and 
happiness  to  their  cheerless  homes. 

As  funds  were  necessary  to  carry  on  such  an  institution,  the 
important  question  arose :  "  Shall  we  accept  fees — if  not  from 
the  poor,  at  least  from  those  who  are  abundantly  able  to  pay 
for  both  treatment  and  medicines?" 

After  this  question  had  been  considered  in  the  light  of  our 
Lord's  example,  and  in  the  light  of  the  experience  of  some 
missionaries  who  have  taken  remuneration,  it  was  decided  in 
the  negative.  To  require  patients  to  pay  charges  would,  it  is 
believed,  essentially  change  the  character  of  the  institution,  re- 
ducing it  from  a  mission  hospital  to  the  level  of  a  worldly  bus- 
iness firm,  utterly  destroying  its  moral  influence,  which  is  the 
grand  object  of  its  existence,  disobeying  the  Master's  com- 
mand :  "  Freely  give,"  and  instead  of  opening  the  zana'na, 
effectually  closing  it  against  the  missionary  and  her  Bible. 

The  annual  expenditure  for  medicine,  rent,  food,  clothing, 
and  service,  amounted  to  nearly  four  hundred  dollars,  about 
one-half  of  which  was  given  from  the  general  funds  of  the  mis- 
sion, the  remainder  being  contributed  chiefly  by  beneficent 
Christians  in  India,  whilst  a  little  was  added  to  this  in  the 
form  of  thank  offerings  from  the  patients  themselves. 


MISS   EUPHIE   E.  GORDON. 


zana'na  hospital.  481 

This  work,  growing  from  year  to  year,  and  having  passed 
the  period  of  mere  experiment,  Mrs.  Johnson  and  Miss  Gor- 
Gordon,  experiencing  the  difficulties  and  responsibihty  of 
carrying  it  on  with  only  the  limited  knowledge  of  the  healing 
art  which  they  had  been  able  to  acquire  under  great  difficul- 
ties, came  to  America,  and  entered  the  Pennsylvania  Woman's 
Medical  College  in  Philadelphia,  in  October,  1885,  closing  the 
Zanahia  Hospital  until  they  should  return  to  India  after  re- 
ceiving a  full  course  of  medical  training. 
31 


CHAPTER   XXXV. 


OUR    INSTITUTIONS    CONTINUED. 


HAVING  noticed  in  the  preceding  chapter  those  institutions 
designed  mainly  to  bring  sinners  to  Christ,  it  now  remains 
to  give  an  account  of  those  estabhshed  for  the  purpose  of 
building  up  the  native  church.  These  institutions,  naturally 
coming  into  existence  only  after  there  was  a  native  church  to 
need  them,  are  comparatively  new,  and  their  history  shall  be 
recorded  with  brevity.  The  principal  institutions  of  this  class 
are  the  Theological  Seminary,  the  Christian  Training  Institute, 
the  Girls'  Boarding  School,  and  Village  Schools. 

The  Theological  Seminary. — From  the  prominence  given 
throughout  this  narrative  to  our  illiterate  native  workers,  and 
to  the  manifest  and  abundant  divine  blessing  attending  their 
humble  labors,  some  may  draw  the  conclusion  that  we  regard 
the  education  of  a  native  ministry  as  unimportant  and  even  un- 
necessary. Such  a  conclusion  would  be  wrong,  since  we  have 
ever,  both  in  theory  and  practice,  recognized  the  necessity  of 
having  at  least  some  of  our  workers  thoroughly  educated. 
The  unlearned  pious  men,  to  whom  we  have  given,  justly  as 
we  believe,  great  prominence,  whilst  eminently  successful  in 
carrying  to  their  poor  brethren  the  glad  tidings  for  their  con- 
version, are  utterly  incapable  of  giving  the  converts  a  thorough 
course  of  instruction.  On  the  contrary,  we  have  always  felt  it 
necessary  to  carefully  instruct  such  workers  themselves,  super- 
intending and  directing  them  in  their  good  work,  and  follow- 
ing up  their  labors  by  supplying  the  converts  with  well-trained 
teachers  to  the  utmost  of  our  ability.  Whilst  devoutly  thank- 
ing God  for  the  "  unlearned  and  ignorant  men,"  "  filled  with 
the  Holy  Ghost,"  who  "  spake  the  Word  of  God  with  bold- 

(482) 


THEOLOGICAL   SEMINARY.  483 

ness,"  SO  that  "much  people  was  added  unto  the  Lord,"  we 
supplemented  them  with  others  who  were  brought  up  "  at  the 
feet  of  Gamaliel."  Whilst  we  prayed  the  Lord  for  an  eloquent 
and  fervent  ApoUos,  and  endeavored  to  recognize  him  when 
sent  to  us,  we  encouraged  our  Priscillas  and  Aquilas,  who 
"  took  him  unto  them  and  expounded  unto  him  the  way  of 
God  more  perfectly." 

Deeply  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  a  thoroughly  edu- 
cated native  ministry,  we  undertook,  while  yet  few  in  number 
and  overwhelmed  with  other  work,  to  train  up  such  men  as 
the  Rev.  G.  W.  Scott,  E.  P.  Swift,  and  G.  L.  Tha'kur,  with 
whose  history  the  reader  is  already  familiar.  In  1872  we  had 
three  youths  pursuing  their  literary  studies  with  a  view  to  en- 
tering the  ministry,  involving  the  necessity  of  providing  in 
some  way  for  their  theological  training.  In  1876,  a  still  larger 
number  of  young  men  were  anxiously  seeking  how  they  might 
be  thoroughly  qualified  for  the  sacred  office,  whilst  the  daily 
increasing  work  imperatively  demanded  the  services  of  trained 
men. 

The  mission  having  in  December,  1875,  been  strengthened 
by  the  return  to  India  of  Messrs.  Barr  and  Gordon,  we  began 
to  think  it  possible  for  some  of  our  number  to  devote  a  part  of 
their  time  to  the  systematic  instruction  of  these  students;  and 
the  Presbytery,  without  waiting  to  erect  a  Seminary  building, 
elected  the  Rev.  J.  S.  Barr,  D.  D.,  Senior  Professor,  with  two 
others  to  assist  him,  designating  a  four  years'  course  of  study, 
chiefly  in  systematic  theology,  church  history,  and  the  Bible, 
to  be  taught  during  the  hot  season  when  itinerant  work  in  the 
country  was  impracticable.  In  April,  1877,  the  Theological 
Seminary  was  opened  on  the  south  premises  with  nine  stu- 
dents, eight  of  whom  were  from  among  our  active  workers, 
the  ninth  being  connected  with  our  neighbor  mission  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland. 

The  difficulties  were  many;  without  any  preparatory  de- 
partment, the  literary  attainments  of  the  students  were  so  very 
unequal  as  to  render  classification  impracticable;  few  suitable 


484  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

text-books  in  the  vernacular  were  available;  each  professor 
having  important  work  in  his  own  district,  for  which  he  was 
responsible,  was  obliged  to  leave  it  unprovided  for  during  his 
absence;  and  the  students  being  pressingly  needed  for  the 
ever-increasing  work,  could  be  spared  to  attend  the  Seminary 
in  the  hot  season  only,  an  arrangement  which  severely  affected 
the  health  of  those  who  taught  in  this  institution.  Notwith- 
standing these  and  other  difficulties,  four  of  the  students  com- 
pleted their  course,  and  were  licensed  in  January,  1882,  three 
in  January,  1883,  and  one  in  April  of  the  same  year;  whilst 
others  have  the  prospect  of  licensure  in  the  early  future,  men- 
tion of  the  most  of  them  having  already  been  made.  As  but 
few  students  were  admitted  from  year  to  year  to  fill  the  places 
of  those  completing  their  course,  the  number  fell  as  low  as  five 
in  1882,  and  still  lower  by  the  graduation  of  some  of  these  in 
the  following  year.  At  this  point  several  important  changes 
were  made,  greatly  to  the  permanent  advantage  of  the  institu- 
tion, the  first  and  chief  of  which  was  the  addition  to  our  band 
of  a  missionary  whose  whole  time  should  be  devoted  to  the 
Seminary  and  work  immediately  connected  therewith.  The 
personal  history  of  this  brother  will  be  given  briefly  in  the  fol- 
lowing sketch  : 

The  Rev.  Robert  Stewart,  D.  D.,  one  of  the  six  sons,  and 
eight  children,  of  James  Harris  Stewart,  M.  D.,  of  Allegheny 
City,  Pa.,  by  his  first  wife,  Jane  Abigail  Fuller,  was  born  at 
Sidney,  Ohio,  on  the  31st  of  January,  1839.  After  the  death 
of  his  mother,  which  took  place  when  he  was  in  his  fourteenth 
year,  he  made  his  home  in  Allegheny  City  with  his  uncle, 
J.  H.  Stewart,  Esq.,  and  his  aunt.  Miss  Mary  Stewart.  To  this 
pious  aunt  he  owes  more,  perhaps,  of  all  that  is  precious  to 
him,  than  to  any  other  individual  with  whom  he  was  associated 
in  the  formation  period  of  his  life. 

For  many  generations  back  Dr.  Stewart's  ancestors  were 
American,  none  of  them  migrating  to  America  less  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  years  ago,  and  many  of  them  crossing 
the  Atlantic  more  than  two  hundred  years  ago.     All,  so  far  as 


THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY.  485 

known,  were  religious  people.  His  father's  great-grandfather, 
Thomas  Harris,  was  born  in  the  year  1697,  and  died  about  the 
year  1803,  after  having  thus  seen  three  centuries.  Thomas 
Harris'  grand  parents  were  driven  from  Scotland  to  Ireland  by 
religious  persecution.  Brother  Stewart's  mother  was  of  Puri- 
tan descent. 

After  his  graduation  at  Jefferson  College,  July  31st,  1859, 
some  two  years  were  devoted  by  him  to  teaching.  Whilst 
thus  employed  in  Kentucky,  the  American  civil  war  forced  his 
return  to  the  North,  after  which  he  was  for  six  months  the 
Principal  of  Williamsburg  Academy, 

In  the  autumn  of  1861  he  entered  our  Theological  Seminary 
in  the  city  of  Allegheny,  from  which  he  was  graduated  in  the 
spring  of  1865,  having  on  the  12th  of  April,  1864,  been  licensed 
by  the  Presbytery  of  Allegheny. 

From  the  istof  July,  1865,  to  the  istof  July,  1866,  he  filled 
an  appointment  as  stated  supply  in  the  congregations  of  Ash- 
land and  Savannah,  Ohio ;  after  which  he  labored  about  two 
years  as  a  home  missionary  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  where  he  was 
ordained  sine  titulo  by  the  First  Ohio  Presbytery  on  the  9th  of 
November,  1866. 

In  the  summer  of  1868  he  was  sent  to  Davenport,  Delaware 
county,  N.  Y.,  where  he  labored  in  the  new  organization  at 
that  place  as  stated  supply  for  one  year,  and  afterwards  as 
regularly  settled  pastor  for  three. years. 

In  1 87 1  he  was  elected  by  the  Synod  of  New  York  Profes- 
sor of  Exigetics  and  Homiletics  in  the  Newburgh  Theological 
Seminary,  his  election  being  confirmed  by  the  General  Assem- 
bly at  Washington,  Iowa,  in  the  following  May.  He  began 
his  work  in  the  Seminary  on  the  1st  of  October,  1872,  pursu- 
ing it  until  October,  1878,  when,  for  financial  and  other  reasons, 
the  Synod  deemed  it  wise  to  close  the  Seminary,  at  least  for  a 
time.  The  degree  of  D.  D.  was  conferred  upon  him  by  West- 
minster College,  and  also  by  Washington  and  Jefferson  Col- 
lege, in  June,  1875. 

While  laboring  at  Newburgh,  he  was  appointed  to  prepare 


486  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

notes  on  the  international  series  of  lessons  for  the  Sabbath 
schools  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church ;  and  being  more 
than  ordinarily  successful   in  this  work,  was   re-appointed  on 
various  subsequent  occasions,  receiving  for  his  services  in  this 
department  thanks  from  successive  General  Assemblies. 

After  leaving  Newburgh,  he  was  solicited  by  the  Rev.  W.  W. 
Barr,  D.  D.,  to  purchase  the  Evangelical  Repository  and  the 
Sabbath-school  helps  of  the  United  Presbyterian  Church,  and 
to  fill  the  editorial  chair  of  the  same.  Encouraged  by  other 
warm  and  judicious  friends  to  enter  this  new  field  of  useful- 
ness, he  accordingly,  with  an  associate,  under  the  firm  name  of 
R.  Stewart  &  Company,  purchased  them  and  began  their  man- 
agement and  editorial  control  in  Philadelphia,  Pa.,  in  the  spring 
of  1879,  efficiently  aided  in  the  management  by  his  brother, 
S.  F.  Stewart.  The  titles  and  general  character  of  the  Sabbath- 
school  helps  were  somewhat  changed,  and  at  the  request  of 
the  General  Assembly  he  added  the  Bible  Teacher  Lesson 
Quarterly,  and  the  Bible  Teacher  Lesson  Card.  This  enter- 
prise proving  successful,  at  the  end  of  eighteen  months,  after  a 
continued  growth  of  subscriptions,  the  combined  circulation  of 
all  the  publications,  old  and  new,  amounted  to  about  57,000,  or 
78  per  cent,  more  than  the  circulation  of  those  received  from 
his  predecessors.  The  Board  of  Publication  desiring  to  obtain 
control  of  these  magazines,  purchased  them  from  Dr.  Stewart, 
whose  connection  with  them  ceased  on  the  issue  of  the  No- 
vember numbers  of  1880. 

In  the  spring  of  the  same  year  he  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions,  and  soon  afterwards  its  Re- 
cording Secretary.  In  the  autumn  of  that  year  he  was  selected 
co-commissioner  with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Barr,  President  of  the 
Board,  to  visit  our  Foreign  Missions  in  India  and  Egypt.  On 
this  business  he  left  Philadelphia  on  the  6th  of  November, 
1880,  and  returned  June  29,  1881.  This  service,  with  its  ne- 
cessary outlay  of  money  and  time,  was  generously  rendered 
the  Church  and  her  foreign  missions  by  Brother  Stewart  at 
his  own  expense. 


CHRISTIAN   TRAINING    INSTITUTE.  48/ 

The  members  of  our  India  Mission,  becoming  acquainted 
with  Dr.  Stewart  during  his  visit,  greatly  desired  him  to  return 
for  the  purpose  of  undertaking  the  special  work  of  training  a 
native  ministry,  and  passed  a  resolution  asking  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  to  appoint  him  to  India  with  this  important 
work  in  view.  The  Board  made  the  desired  appointment, 
which  was  confirmed  by  the  General  Assembly  of  1881.  Ac- 
cordingly, leaving  Philadelphia  on  the  5th  of  November  of  the 
same  year,  he  arrived  at  Gujranwa'la  on  the  7th  of  January, 
1882. 

Without  any  unfriendly  intention,  as  we  may  charitably  be- 
lieve, against  our  sister  mission  in  Egypt,  our  good  Doctor, 
when  on  his  way  to  India,  married,  on  the  1st  of  December, 
188 1,  in  the  city  of  Cairo,  Miss  Eliza  Frazer  Johnston,  daugh- 
ter of  the  late  Rev.  J.  B.  Johnston,  D.  D.,  of  St.  Clairsville, 
Ohio,  who  had  been  working  for  a  number  of  years  as  a  mis- 
sionary in  Cairo — and  carried  her  off  with  him  from  her  old 
to  his  new  field  of  labor. 

On  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Stewart  in  our  midst,  the  Rev.  J.  S. 
Barr,  D.  D.,  was,  at  his  own  request,  relieved  by  the  Presby- 
tery from  the  position  of  Senior  Professor  in  the  Seminary, 
and  Dr.  Stewart  elected  in  his  stead;  the  latter,  however,  being 
engaged  during  the  year  in  the  study  of  Urdu,  the  duties  of 
his  position  were  performed  during  the  first  part  of  the  year 
by  Prof  Martin,  and  during  the  last  by  Dr.  Barr. 

Some  one  being  at  last  secured  who  should  henceforward 
devote  to  the  Seminary  his  whole  time,  untrammeled  by  other 
burdens,  it  became  practicable  to  change  the  session  from  the 
debilitating  summer  months  to  the  cool  season  of  the  year,  the 
change  being  made  in  1883.  It  also  became  possible  for  the 
new  professor,  through  the  number  of  theological  students  hav- 
ing been  reduced,  to  devote  at  least  a  part  of  his  time  to  the 
preparation  of  much-needed  text-books. 

Tlie  Christian  Training-  Institute. — This  institution,  essential 
to  the  well-being  of  the  Seminary,  was  established  in  1881, 
and  placed  under  the  supervision  of  the  Senior  Theological 


488  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Professor,  its  main  object  being  to  afford  a  literary  and  relig- 
ious training  to  promising  Christian  boys  preparatory  to  their 
admission  to  the  Theological  Seminary.  Only  a  portion  of  its 
students,  it  is  true,  are  expected  to  enter  the  Seminary,  the 
most  of  them  stopping  short  of  a  full  course  to  engage  in 
teaching  and  other  useful  forms  of  Christian  work,  and  some 
even  engaging  in  secular  pursuits;  but  the  securing  of  a  well- 
trained  ministry  is  the  prime  object  in  view,  all  others  being 
only  secondary. 

The  question  of  how  much  literary  training  is  necessary  for 
young  men  looking  forward  to  pastoral  work  among  a  poor 
illiterate  people  is  one  of  the  many  problems  not  yet  fully 
settled.  Having  doubtless  made  mistakes,  we  are  still  cau- 
tiously feeling  our  way,  endeavoring  to  adapt  our  plans  to  the 
condition  of  the  people,  rather  than  to  follow  out  preconceived 
foreign  theories.  Our  present  ideas  on  this  question  will  ap- 
pear from  the  following  outline  : 

Before  admission  to  the  Training  Institute,  candidates  are 
required  to  pass  examination  in  a  three  years'  primary  course, 
beginning  with  the  alphabet.  The  course  of  study,  after  they 
enter  the  Institute,  extends  over  a  period  of  five  years,  em- 
bracing the  Urdu  and  Persian  languages.  Arithmetic,  Mensu- 
ration, Algebra,  the  first  four  books  of  Euclid,  Geography, 
History,  and  Physical  Science — the  study  of  Arabic  and  San- 
scrit being  optional.  For  this  secular  branch  of  the  work  a 
competent  native  teacher  is  employed  under  the  superintendent. 
Aside  from  these  secular  studies  the  candidates,  having  before 
their  admission  committed  to  memory  the  Shorter  Catechism 
with  proof  texts  as  quoted  in  the  Confession  of  Faith,  are, 
during  the  five  years'  course,  instructed  in  the  Bible,  the 
:Shorter  Catechism  with  comment,  a  brief  manual  of  Theology, 
a  work  on  Divine  and  Human  History,  and  Christian  Eviden- 
ces, and  are  expected  to  take  part  in  the  religious  exercises  of 
the  institution  and  in  the  Sial'kot  Sabbath-school.  A  move 
has  recently  been  made  in  favor  of  introducing  the  study  of 
:Engl!sh,  and  extending  the  course  to  seven  years. 


REV.  ROBERT    STEWART,  D.   I). 


MRS.  ELIZA    F.  STEWART. 


girls'  boarding  school.  489 

The  average  number  of  students  attending  the  Training  In- 
stitute is  about  thirty.  During  the  short  period  since  its  es- 
tabUshment,  two  of  its  students  have  completed  their  course 
preparatory  to  entering  the  Theological  Seminary,  twelve  have 
gone  forth  to  labor  as  teachers  and  subordinate  evangelical 
workers  in  our  field,  three  have  engaged  in  similar  good  work 
in  other  missions;  whilst  some  have  returned  for  good  rea- 
sons to  their  village  homes,  and  a  few  have  proved  unworthy 
and  been  expelled.  There  is  every  reason  to  hope  that  this 
youthful  institution  will  increase  in  importance  and  usefulness 
with  the  growth  of  the  native  church,  and  continue  to  fill  the 
important  place  in  our  system  of  Christian  education  for  which 
it  was  originally  designed. 

The  Girls'  Boarding  School. — The  high  price  of  food  in  the 
Panjab',  which  attended  the  late  Afghan  war,  together  with  the 
dreadful  mortality  among  the  poor  natives  which  followed, 
threw  a  number  of  orphan  girls  upon  the  charity  of  our  several 
missionaries ;  and  near  the  same  time  the  Girls'  School  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  Mission  in  Sial'kot  was  discontinued,  by 
which  a  it.yN  of  the  inmates,  supported  by  members  of  our  mis- 
sion, were  returned  to  our  care.  These  waifs  were  collected 
at  the  old  quarters  of  the  girls'  orphanage  on  the  south  prem- 
ises, and  placed  under  the  care  of  Miss  McCahon,  thus  resus- 
citating in  1879  the  institution  which  for  want  of  inmates  had 
been  closed  a  few  years  before.  The  schools  for  heathen  girls 
in  the  city  of  Sial'kot  being  unpromising,  were  closed,  giving 
Miss  McCahon  the  more  time  to  devote  to  the  orphan  girls  ; 
whilst  Miss  Gordon,  entering  the  door  opened  by  the  late  city 
girls'  schools  for  Zanii'iia  visitation,  devoted  to  this  work  her 
undivided  time. 

The  support  of  the  orphan  girls  was  undertaken  by  benefi- 
cent Christian  friends  in  America  and  India,  chiefly  by  mem- 
bers of  the  mission.  As  the  times  improved  the  number  of 
destitute  orphans  was  fewer;  at  the  same  time,  the  daughters 
of  native  Christian  parents  being  admitted  as  boarders,  the 
vacancies  were  more  than  filled.     After  three  or  four  years  the 


490  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

name  "  Girls'  Orphanage"  was  entirely  discarded,  and  the  term 
"  Girls'  Boarding  School  "  now  more  appropriate,  adopted  in 
its  stead. 

The  religious,  literary  and  industrial  training  given  in  this 
school  does  not  differ  essentially  from  that  of  the  old  "  Girls' 
Orphanage,"  as  detailed  in  a  preceding  chapter,  the  aim  being 
the  same — to  supply  the  homes  with  intelligent  and  godly 
Christian  wives  and  mothers,  and  the  mission  with  efficient 
workers,  and  that,  if  possible,  without  habituating  them  to  ex- 
pensive modes  of  living,  which  would  unfit  them  for  happily 
and  usefully  filling  the  positions  which  they  are  destined  to 
occupy  in  life. 

About  one-fourth  of  the  students  of  the  Theological  Semin- 
ary and  Christian  Training  Institute  are  married  men,  whose 
wives  and  daughters  have  not  generally  enjoyed  the  advantage 
of  good  schools.  With  the  view  of  making  these  helpmates 
and  their  daughters  efficient  helpers  in  the  good  work.  Miss 
McCahon  formed  them  into  a  class,  which  she  taught  in  con- 
nection with  the  Girls'  Boarding  School,  until  the  Seminary 
and  Institute  were  removed  from  the  south  premises  to  a  new 
property  secured  for  them  three  miles  north  ;  this  work  being 
subsequently  undertaken  by  Mrs.  Stewart. 

Day-schools  for  Cliristians. — It  is  necessary  to  clearly  distin- 
guish the  day-schools  for  non-Christians  from  those  established 
for  the  Christians.  The  former,  few  in  number,  generally  en- 
rolling hundreds  of  scholars,  imparting  a  higher  education, 
and  confined  mostly  to  principal  stations  in  large  towns,  have 
been  in  operation  in  our  mission  ever  since  the  year  1856; 
whilst  the  latter  are  small  primary  schools  located  in  outlying 
villages,  with  a  dozen  or  a  score  of  little  boys  and  girls  in  each, 
and  have  been  established  mostly  within  five  or  six  years,  as 
the  increasing  numbers  of  poor  illiterate  Christians  rendered 
them  necessary.  But  few  of  these  schools  were  established 
previous  to  the  year  1880;  since  which  time  they  have  multi- 
plied, until  they  now  exceed  fifty  in  number. 

The  great  mass  of  our  poor  Christians  being  entirely  illiter- 


\ 


DAY-SCHOOLS    FOR    CHRISTIANS.  49 1 

ate,  and  having  neither  the  means  nor  the  opportunity  which 
others  enjoy  of  obtaining  an  education,  it  seems  highly  im- 
portant that  we  should  teach  them  at  least  to  read.  The  course 
of  study  is  short  and  simple,  beginning  with  the  alphabet  and 
embracing  only  what  can  be  studied  within  the  short  period 
of  three  years.  The  school-rooms  are  like  the  majority  of 
rooms  in  native  villages,  built  of  sun-dried  clay,  with  flat  roofs, 
no  windows,  imperfect  ventilation,  and  with  earthen  floors, 
furnished  only  with  a  few  coarse  mats.  The  teachers  receive 
salaries  not  exceeding  four  dollars  a  month,  and  are  necessarily 
of  very  limited  scholarship. 

Viewing  such  schools  from  a  mere  worldly  standpoint,  we 
may  feel  inclined  to  regard  them  as  insignificant.  But  when 
we  consider  that  without  them  the  Bible  must  remain  a  sealed 
book  to  the  great  mass  of  the  Christians ;  that  every  school 
teacher,  as  far  as  possible,  performs  the  work  of  a  Sabbath- 
school  teacher  for  young  and  old  in  the  village,  as  well  as  a 
teacher  of  the  day-school,  and  that  only  by  means  of  such  lit- 
tle primary  schools  can  the  future  teachers  and  preachers  be 
brought  forward  to  our  higher  training  institutions,  we  think 
their  importance  can  hardly  be  over-estimated. 

From  these  village  schools  the  children  most  promising  in 
point  of  character  and  talent,  after  completing  their  three  years' 
course  of  study  with  credit,  are  promoted  to  the  Christian 
Training  Institute,  or  the  Girls'  Boarding  School,  in  SiaFkot ; 
and  thus  the  primary  schools  form  an  essential  part  of  our 
system  of  Christian  education. 


CHAPTER   XXXVI. 

VISIT    OF   THE    COMMISSIONERS — THEN    AND    NOW CONCLUSION, 

THE  Visit  of  the  Coviniissioners. — The  visit  of  the  Revs.  W. 
W.  Barr,  D.  D.,  and  R.  Stewart,  D.  D.,  to  our  India  Mis- 
sion in  January,  i88i,  as  Commissioners  from  our  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions,  was  an  event  of  deep  personal  interest  to  the 
missionaries  and  of  permanent  benefiit  to  the  mission.  The 
interest  with  which  we  all  hailed  the  arrival  of  these  brethren 
in  our  midst  may  be  imagined  when  it  is  remembered  that 
during  thirty  long  years  this  was  the  one  solitary  instance  in 
which  we  were  visited  by  any  of  our  ministers,  or  even  by  any 
of  our  countrymen.  Our  field  being  more  than  a  thousand 
miles  from  the  route  traveled  by  tourists  passing  through  In- 
dia, none  but  those  sent  out  as  missionaries  ever  found  their 
way  to  us.  We  being  so  far  out  of  the  world — out  of  the  reach 
of  observation,  and,  as  seemed  sometimes  a  natural  conse- 
quence, out  of  mind  also — the  presence  of  the  worthy  commis- 
sioners, after  they  had  journeyed  ten  thousand  miles  to  reach 
us,  was  well  calculated  to  cheer  our  hearts,  strengthen  our 
hands,  and  happily  impress  us  with  the  belief  that  we  still  oc- 
cupied a  place  in  the  heart  of  our  mother  Church.  As  these 
brethren,  after  thoroughly  acquainting  themselves  by  careful 
personal  observation  with  our  field — our  work  and  our  needs 
— returned  to  tell  the  Church  what  they  had  seen  and  heard 
(their  report,  indeed,  stating  that  the  half  had  not  been  told), 
our  people  through  this  report  became  acquainted  with  us  as 
never  before.  Within  twelve  months  after  they  had  been  with 
us,  and  as  a  result,  at  least  in  part,  of  their  visit,  we  were  re- 
inforced as  we  had  not  been  in  any  single  previous  year;  and 
our  Theological  Seminary  and   other    important   institutions 

(492) 


THE    LATEST    ACCESSION.  493 

were  better  provided  with  men  and  means,  and  placed  upon  a 
more  solid  footing  for  the  future. 

Divisio7i  of  Labor. — By  the  addition  to  our  number,  in  i88i, 
of  three  ordained  missionaries  and  one  female  missionary,  a 
division  of  labor  began  to  seem  possible;  instead  of  our  being 
necessarily  burdened  and  perplexed  with  a  multiplicity  of  work 
because  of  the  fewness  of  our  number,  and  dragged  from  one 
thing  to  another  until  our  heads  reeled  again,  limits  were  set 
to  our  several  spheres  of  operation  and  responsibility;  a  num- 
ber of  us  sallying  forth  into  the  district  began  vigorously  to 
reap  the  harvest  now  fast  ripening,  and  while  thus  engaged 
were  not  incessantly  harassed  with  the  ever-present  thought 
of  other  important  work  being  absolutely  neglected ;  our  na- 
tive membership  and  native  workers  having  increased  in  num- 
ber gradually  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  but  as  yet  in  a  semi- 
chaotic  state,  were  now  more  thoroughly  organized  ;  our  work- 
ing capacity  was  increased,  and  the  whole  mission  assumed  a 
more  active,  healthy  and  hopeful  condition. 

Permanent  Committees. — In  1883  the  Presbytery,  in  further- 
ance of  the  grand  object  of  the  mission,  appointed  permanent 
committees  on  Evangelization,  Publication,  Education,  Sabbath- 
schools,  Christian  Beneficence,  Church  Erection,  and  Statistics; 
the  design  being  not  merely  to  carry  on  more  efficiently  the 
several  branches  of  the  great  work,  but  by  placing  on  these 
committees  natives  along  with  their  foreign  brethren,  to  train 
the  ministers  and  elders  of  the  infant  church  to  take  a  promi- 
nent part  in  the  work,  and  thus  to  provide  for  their  eventually 
assuming  the  entire  charge  and  responsibility. 

The  Latest  Accession  to  Our  Mission  Band. — Miss  Josephine 
L.  White,  daughter  of  Thomas  A.  and  M.  J.  Miller  White, 
the  eldest  but  one  in  a  family  of  eight  children,  was  born  at 
Grove  City,  Mercer  county,  Pa.,  on  the  24th  of  September, 
1858.  In  i860  the  family  removed  seven  miles  north,  to  Mill 
Brook,  where,  at  the  age  of  seventeen.  Miss  White  became  a 
member  of  the  Presbyterian  church  at  Amity,  Venango  county, 
Pa.,  and  at  a  later  date  a  member  of  the  Grove  City  United 


494  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Presbyterian  congregation,  the  Rev.  W.  B.  Barr  pastor.  She 
was  graduated  at  Grove  City  College  in  June,  1882. 

From  an  early  age  Miss  White  felt  a  lively  interest  in  for- 
eign missions  and  a  desire  to  engage  personally  in  the  work ; 
but  her  way  not  seeming  clear,  she  indulged  in  no  bright 
hopes.  She  and  her  cousin.  Miss  Maria  White,  also  of  Grove 
City,  who,  cherishing  an  ardent  love  for  foreign  missions,  is  un- 
derstood to  be  studying  medicine  in  Baltimore  with  this  work 
in  view — were  accustomed  to  converse  on  their  favorite  sub- 
ject as  they  met  from  time  to  time,  and  to  encourage  each 
other. 

That  which  finally  led  Miss  White  to  a  decision  was  the 
pressing  need  of  additional  laborers  set  forth  in  one  of  our 
mission  reports.  At  the  close  of  the  memorable  year  1883,  in 
which  our  native  membership  was  nearly  doubled,  we  earnestly 
appealed  to  the  Church  for  an  addition  of  six  male  and  eight 
female  missionaries.  This  urgent  appeal,  together  with  the 
interesting  state  of  the  work  which  led  to  it,  constrained  Miss 
White  to  write  at  once  to  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  and 
offer  her  services;  after  which  formal  notice  of  her  appoint- 
ment reached  her  in  October,  1884. 

Leaving  her  home  at  Mill  Brook  on  the  5th  of  November, 
she  on  the  evening  of  the  same  day  attended  a  farewell  meet- 
ing given  by  the  congregation  arwd  her  numerous  other  friends 
and  acquaintances  at  Grove  City.  On  the  following  morning 
the  members  of  the  Ladies'  Missionary  Society  of  Beaver  Val- 
ley Presbytery,  having  undertaken  her  support  in  India,  made 
their  first  acquaintance  with  her  at  Wampum,  and  making  her 
the  appropriate  gift  of  an  elegant  Bible,  bade  her  God-speed  in 
her  grand  work  and  an  affectionate  farewell.  Soon  afterwards 
she  proceeded  to  Philadelphia,  whence  she  was  to  sail  in  com- 
pany with  a  sister  missionary,  whose  personal  history  is  as 
follows : 

Miss  Mary  J.  Campbell,  the  eldest  of  the  eight  children  of 
William  and  Margaret  Spears  Campbell,  of  Biggsville,  Hen- 
derson county,  Ills.,  was  born  on  the  12th  of  September,  1865. 


MISS  JOSEPHINE  L.  WHITE. 


THE    LATEST   ACCESSION.  495 

In  the  year  1868  her  parents  removed  to  Piper  City,  Ills,, 
where  the  Rev.  William  Morrow  was  both  the  pastor  and 
teacher  of  Mary's  early  years.  In  the  spring  of  1878  the  fam- 
ily removed  to  Mills  county,  Iowa,  where  her  father  died  in 
December,  1880.  Here,  at  the  age  of  fourteen,  she  was 
present  at  a  series  of  religious  meetings,  held  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  McCague,  for  many  years  a  missionary  in  Egypt. 
Through  the  instrumentality  of  this  devoted  servant  of  the 
Lord,  a  love  for  her  Saviour,  and  a  desire  to  become  a  foreign 
missionary  were  simultaneously  awakened  in  her  heart.  Eight 
months  after  the  father's  death,  her  mother  becoming  seriously 
ill,  returned  with  the  family  to  Biggsville,  where  she  died  in 
October,  1881,  seven  of  the  children  finding  homes  among 
their  mother's  relatives. 

Miss  Campbell,  after  attending  school  for  one  year  at  Biggs- 
ville, and  teaching  some  fifteen  months  at  Walnut  Grove,  near 
the  Ellison  church,  entered  the  State  Normal  School  at  Bloom- 
ington.  Ills.,  with  the  intention  of  graduating  either  there  or 
at  Monmouth  College. 

Whilst  entertaining  a  strong  desire  to  go  on  a  mission  to 
the  heathen,  she  thought  herself  too  young,  and  appreciated 
the  importance  of  continuing  her  studies.  The  thought  also 
of  leaving  her  brothers  and  sisters,  over  whom  she  had  exer- 
cised a  mother's  care,  was  painful,  naturally  causing  her  much 
anxiety,  and  leading  her  to  seek  advice  from  her  former  pas- 
tors, the  Revs.  W.  R.  Cox  and  W.  J.  Buchanan.  After  a  cor- 
respondence between  these  brethren  and  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions,  it  was  decided  by  the  latter,  notwithstanding  Miss 
Campbell's  tender  age,  to  send  her  at  once  to  our  needy  India 
Mission.  The  appointment  was  announced  to  her  late  in  Oc- 
tober, 1884,  after  which  a  pleasant  farewell  meeting  was  held 
at  the  Ellison  church,  on  the  4th  of  November,  two  days  be- 
fore her  departure  for  Philadelphia. 

Miss  White  and  Miss  Campbell,  in  obedience  to  the  press- 
ing call,  set  out  from  Philadelphia  on  the  12th  of  November, 
1884,  on  their  long  voyage,  among  entire  strangers,  reaching 


49^  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Bombay  on  the  4th  of  January,  1885;  and  on  the  9th  they 
arrived  at  Gurdas'pur,  where  they  were  affectionately  wel- 
comed by  the  missionaries  there  assembled  for  our  usual  an- 
nual meeting. 

TJie  Rev.  E.  H.  Stevenson,  one  of  the  oldest  of  our  mission- 
aries, who  engaged  in  teaching  after  his  return  to  America  in 
impaired  health  in  the  spring  of  1865,  died  suddenly  from 
heart  disease  at  Andes,  Delaware  county,  N.  Y.,  September 
20,  1879,  whilst  engaged  in  teaching  a  class  in  the  Collegiate 
Institute  of  that  place.  Mr.  Stevenson  was  born  at  Wagon- 
town,  Chester  county,  Pa.,  on  the  20th  of  January,  1820. 
After  his  graduation  at  Delaware  College  in  1844,  he  was 
Principal  of  Hopewell  Academy  for  four  years.  Then  study- 
ing theology  at  Canonsburg,  he  was  licensed  by  the  Philadel- 
phia Presbytery,  October  8th,  185 1,  and  ordained  sine  titido 
by  the  Ohio  Presbytery,  November  4th,  1852,  after  which  he 
labored  as  stated  supply  to  Stowe  and  Springfield  congrega- 
tions, in  Summit  county,  Ohio,  until  his  appointment  to  our 
India  Mission,  mention  of  which  has  already  been  made. 

This  brother  beloved,  colleague  of  my  early  mission  life, 
was  a  faithful,  conscientious  man  of  the  strictest  integrity,  and 
an  ardent  lover  of  the  foreign  mission  work,  expressing  to  the 
writer  as  late  as  1875  an  earnest  desire  to  return  to  India, 
should  Providence  open  up  the  way.  His  death  is  the  first 
from  among  the  ten  foreign  ordained  missionaries  who  have 
labored  in  our  India  Mission,  and  the  only  one  during  the  first 
thirty  years  of  its  history. 

Mrs.  Hill,  wife  of  the  Rev.  R.  A.  Hill,  who  after  returning 
from  India  in  1863,  was  for  a  number  of  years  pastor  of  the 
Presbyterian  church  of  Princetown,  N.  Y.,  died  at  that  place 
on  the  loth  of  June,  1875.  Mrs.  Hill,  though  far  from  enjoy- 
ing good  health  during  her  eight  years'  sojourn  in  India, 
labored  earnestly  for  the  good  of  souls.  Having  no  children' 
of  her  own,  she  sought  to  do  what  she  could  for  the  orphans, 
already  mentioned  as  being  first  under  the  care  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Hill,  and  afterwards  left  with  the  mission  on  their  depart- 


MISS   MARY   J.  CAMPBELL. 


THE    FIELD    THEN    AND    NOW,  497 

ure  for  America.  A  number  of  these  boys  and  girls  who  re- 
ceived from  her  their  early  training  are  now  among  our  valued 
workers,  one  of  them  being  an  ordained  minister.  A  memo- 
rial, far  more  to  be  desired  than  the  most  costly  and  exquisite 
of  marble  columns,  is  embodied  in  the  simple  and  touching 
message  of  one  of  these  orphan  girls,  who  from  her  deathbed 
sent  her  love  to  Mrs.  Hill,  then  far  away  in  America,  saying: 
"I  die  in  faith;  and  I  owe  all,  under  God,  to  your  taking  me 
when  a  little  heathen  girl  and  bringing  me  to  the  Saviour." 

Elder  Chaughat'td,  his  death. — This  humble  child  of  God, 
whose  history  is  given  in  our  chapter  on  "  The  Work  in  Giir- 
dds'piirl^  was  rich  in  faith  and  eminently  successful  in  winning 
souls ;  yet  he  was  "  contemptible  "  in  outward  appearance,  and 
so  poor  in  this  world,  as  to  render  his  departure  as  easy  as  that 
of  a  little  child.  On  being  asked  by  a  native  brother  shortly 
after  the  beginning  of  his  illness  in  October  last,  whether  he 
was  ready  to  depart,  he  was  pleased  at  the  thought,  and  cheer- 
fully replied:  "If  it  be  His  will,  I  am  glad  to  go."  He  after- 
wards rallied  so  far  as  to  be  able  to  attend  the  monthly  work- 
ers' meeting,  when  the  brethren,  perceiving  his  fervent  desire 
to  continue  his  evangelistic  work,  and  knowing  that  he  was  no 
longer  able  to  travel  about  on  foot  as  he  had  hitherto  done, 
made  up  a  purse  and  bought  him  a  pony,  of  which,  however, 
the  good  man  was  able  to  make  but  little  use.  On  the  20th 
of  December,  1885,  Chaughat'ta  passed  to  his  rest  and  his  re- 
ward— happy  man ! 

The  Field  Then  and  Now. — We  perceive  no  change  in  the 
hills  and  mountains,  rivers  and  valleys,  fertile  plains  and  sandy 
wastes ;  the  hot  winds  are  as  parching,  the  rains  as  drenching, 
the  sand  clouds  and  thunder  storms  as  grand,  and  the  perpet- 
ual snows  of  the  Himalayan  heights  as  brilliant  and  dazzling 
now  as  when  we  viewed  them  from  our  observatory  on  the 
summit  of  Kun-nun  thirty  years  ago ;  and  yet  those  years  have 
proved  the  land  of  the  five  rivers  to  be  in  many  respects  no 
more  exempt  from  change  than  are  other  portions  of  the  world. 

The  reduced  fare  has  brought  the  Panjab'  nearer  to  America. 
32 


49^  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

The  long  and  tedious  voyage  around  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
being  a  thing  of  the  past,  we  now  reach  our  mission  field  in  six 
weeks  instead  of  six  months,  without  additional  expense — the 
present  fare  scarcely  exceeding  three  hundred  dollars.  The 
mail,  in  the  comparatively  short  period  of  thirty-five  days, 
weekly  instead  of  fortnightly,  brings  us  a  letter  from  our  friends 
in  America  for  five  cents,  a  mere  fraction  of  the  old  high  rates 
of  postage,  and  for  seven  cents  '"eturns  them  our  answer.  The 
ocean  telegraph  carries  the  daily  news  to  the  Panjab'  as  to 
other  countries. 

The  one  hundred  miles  of  railroad  in  India  in  1854  have 
grown  to  be  more  than  fifteen  thousand,  connecting  all  the  im- 
portant points  of  the  Peninsula,  and  bringing  our  mission  field 
within  three  days  of  Bombay  and  other  seaport  towns.  Many 
articles  of  every-day  use,  which  we  could  not  enjoy  thirty 
years  ago,  are  brought  within  reach  and  within  our  means,  ena- 
bling us,  both  in  regard  to  food  and  clothing,  to  live  more  as 
we  were  accustomed  to  do  in  our  native  land.  Excellent 
Kan'gra  Valley  tea,  good  potatoes,  peaches,  and  other  fruits 
and  vegetables,  are  more  plentiful  and  more  easily  procured 
now  then  formerly.  Our  houses  are  lighted  with  kerosene  in- 
stead of  vegetable  oils,  and  the  telephone  and  electric  light 
have  found  their  way  into  the  Panjab'. 

By  means  of  schools,  colleges  and  universities — all  in  their 
infancy  in  1854 — secular  education  has  rapidly  advanced,  news- 
papers have  multiplied,  the  "  lecture,"  rarely  heard  of  even  two 
decades  ago,  has  become  one  of  the  institutions  of  India,  and 
many  natives  are  entering  the  learned  professions. 

The  East  India  Company  being  no  longer  in  power,  Queen 
Victoria  has  been  proclaimed  Empress  of  India;  local  self- 
government  has  been  granted  to  the  people;  the  natives, 
through  the  public  press,  criticise  the  character  and  acts  of 
their  rulers,  and  zealously  discuss  politics  and  war,  religion 
and  philosophy. 

Though,  on  the  one  hand,  the  Panjab'  is  the  great  wheat- 
growing  province  of  India,  and  though  artificial  irrigation  now 


THE   MISSION   AFTER   THIRTY   YEARS.  499 

increases  its  productiveness,  and  railroads  distribute  the  sur- 
plus of  one  district  to  supply  the  deficiency  of  another;  yet  on 
the  other  hand,  within  the  last  generation,  the  population  has 
increased  by  one-fourth,  and  wheat  has  begun  to  flow  from 
India  to  Europe;  whilst  the  improvements  in  agriculture  are 
but  trifling,  and  half  of  the  cultivatable  lands  lie  waste.  The 
struggle,  therefore,  for  a  bare  subsistence  continues  as  of  old, 
the  masses  being  instantly  distressed  by  high  prices;  and  to- 
gether with  the  increase  of  general  intelligence,  there  is  a 
growing  spirit  of  discontent  and  unrest. 

And  also  the  votaries  of  Hinduism  and  Muhammadanism, 
becoming  disgusted  with  their  old  systems  when  exposed  to 
the  light  of  Christianity,  yet  loath  to  abandon  them,  are  labor- 
iously arraying  them  in  new  and  less  hideous  attire,  and  set- 
ting them  forth  as  reforms,  thereby  affording  themselves  a  new 
and  grand  arena  for  the  display  of  learning  and  ability,  and 
changing  at  many  points  the  character  of  the  great  contest  be- 
tween themselves  and  the  Christian  missionary — all  this  whilst 
many  from  the  masses  are  coming  forward  and  gratefully  ac- 
cepting the  offer  of  the  gospel. 

The  Mission  after  TJiirty  Years. — Having  followed  our  India 
Mission  from  its  humble  beginning  in  1854-55  through  the 
vicissitudes  of  thirty  years,  we  shall  now  endeavor  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  it  as  it  stands  at  the  close  of  this  period,  paying, 
meanwhile,  a  flying  visit  to  the  missionaries,  assured  that  we 
shall  everywhere  receive  their  cordial  welcome  and  bounteous 
hospitality — only  remembering  to  conform  to  East  Indian 
etiquette  by  carrying  with  us  our  little  roll  of  bedding. 

Beginning  with  Jhi'lam  in  the  northwest,  we  find  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Scott  with  their  little  one  (the  two  eldest  children  being 
absent  in  America),  and  Miss  Anderson,  at  the  mission  house 
west  of  the  city,*  A  ten  minutes'  walk  brings  us  to  the  mis- 
sion church,  on  the  busiest  and  noisiest  street  in  Jhi'lam.  In 
the  ante-room,  as  we  enter  from  the  street,  we  observe  a  small 
stock  of  books,  tracts,  and  Bibles,  and  learn  that  in  these  infant 
days  of  the  religious  book  trade  in  India,  the  good  Christian 


500  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

in  charge  accomplishes  more  by  speaking  a  word  in  season  to 
persons  dropping  in  to  buy,  borrow,  or  read,  than  through  his 
petty  sales.  Passing  through  into  the  audience-room,  twenty- 
four  feet  by  thirty-two,  we  find  it  somewhat  protected  from  the 
noise  of  the  street  by  the  intervening  room.  At  the  last  com- 
munion season  which  I  here  enjoyed,  the  number  of  commu- 
nicants present  was  twenty-one  out  of  a  membership  of  twenty- 
three,  whilst  there  were  thirty  scholars  in  the  Sabbath-school. 
This  building  cost  the  Church  less  than  one  thousand  dollars, 
and  the  site  not  half  this  small  sum. 

Proceeding  to  the  northern  part  of  the  city,  we  enter  a  lot 
consisting  of  a  quarter  of  an  acre,  enclosed  by  a  high  wall, 
with  a  small  building — formerly  a  dwelling-house — in  the  cen- 
tre. On  the  day  of  my  last  visit,  February  2d,  1885,  the  sun 
being  veiled  with  clouds,  and  the  open  air  preferable  to  that 
of  the  contracted  rooms,  the  scene  which  greeted  me  on  enter- 
ing the  enclosure  was  quite  picturesque.  One  hundred  or 
more  bright  little  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  girls,  dressed  in 
gay  colors,  profusely  adorned  with  jewels  of  gold,  silver,  and 
cheaper  materials,  squatting  like  Turks  on  coarse  mats  spread 
upon  the  ground,  were  as  busy  as  bees  with  their  wooden 
slates,  reed  pens,  mixtures  of  red  clay  and  water  in  earthen 
ink-pots,  and  with  their  primers  and  books  of  two  languages 
printed  in  three  diverse  alphabets.  Over  each  of  the  five 
classes  into  which  the  girls  were  divided,  presided  a  native 
assistant  teacher,  seated  upon  his  mat,  and  near  by  stood  the 
watchful  and  responsible  callers,  whilst  half  a  score  of  infants 
imparted  to  the  school,  in  more  senses  than  one,  a  decidedly 
domestic  tone.  The  girls  answered  questions  readily  in  Scrip- 
ture history,  repeating  the  story  of  him  who  died  "for  us,"  and 
singing : 

"  Though  mouths  they  have,  they  do  not  speak, 
And  eyes,  they  do  not  see," 

with  a  heartiness  which  evinced  but  little  reverence  for  dumb 
idols,  one  of  the  girls  pertly,  but  pertinently,  remarking,  "  If 


THE    MISSION    AFTER   THIRTY   YEARS.  5OI 

our  idols  fall  down  and  cannot  help  themselves  up,  what  can 
they  do  for  lis?"  As  in  our  other  schools  of  this  kind,  Miss 
Anderson's  aim  in  this  one  is  to  raise  the  girls  above  the  tradi- 
tional idea  that  they  are  mere  dan' gars  (cattle),  and  to  lead 
them  to  the  Saviour,  thus  bringing  light  and  happiness  into 
their  hearts  and  homes.  One  of  the  teachers  was  an  inquirer, 
enduring  the  reproachful  epithet  Kirci'iii,  whilst  another,  a 
bright  girl  of  the  Brahmin  caste,  and  former  pupil  in  the  school, 
having  forsaken  idols,  declared  privately  her  intention,  what- 
ever it  might  cost,  to  confess  openly  her  faith  in  Christ.  At 
the  touch  of  the  bell  all  assembled  in  the  veranda  for  the  usual 
closing  religious  exercises,  after  which  each  girl,  raising  her 
hand  to  her  forehead,  respectfully  made  her  saldui\  and  retired 
as  decorously  as  though  trained  in  London  or  Philadelphia, 

Could  Miss  Anderson  only  be  always  present  in  this  school, 
through  the  hot  season  as  well  as  the  cold,  and  present  at  the 
same  time  in  many  other  like  schools  which  ought  to  be  estab- 
lished, Bible  in  hand,  following  her  pupils  the  while  into  the 
hundreds  of  homes  prepared  by  those  very  schools  to  give 
her  a  hearty  welcome,  and  never  failing  to  devote  the  cool  half 
of  every  year  to  the  village  women  of  the  district,  she  would 
not  need  to  cry  for  help. 

Christians  are  to  be  found  as  yet  in  but  five  or  six  places  in 
Brother  Scott's  vast  diocese ;  and  he  would  be  willing,  I  have 
no  doubt,  to  offer  parishes  containing  one  hundred  thousand 
souls  each,  to  at  least  half  a  dozen  new  missionaries,  after 
reserving  ample  territory  for  himself. 

Turning  south-eastward  towards  Gujranwa'la,  sixty  miles 
distant,  instead  of  trudging  along  ten  miles  a  day  with  tents  as 
of  old,  we  take  the  North  State  Railway,  opened  in  1875,  and 
make  the  journey  in  three  hours.  We  here  find  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
McKee  as  happy  as  we  could  expect  when  two  of  their  three 
dear  children  are  ten  thousand  miles  away.  The  mission 
church,  which  we  find  on  a  corner  lot  after  entering  the  north- 
east gate  of  the  city,  is  a  substantial  brick  structure,  comprising 
an  audience-room  twenty-four  feet  by  forty-four,  with  a  small 


502  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

gallery,  and  several  class-rooms ;  the  lot  at  the  rear  of  the 
building,  some  seventy  feet  by  one  hundred  and  forty,  is  almost 
entirely  surrounded  by  rooms  opening  toward  the  court  in  the 
centre,  the  whole  property  having  cost  about  four  thousand 
dollars.  The  seven  hundred  boys  of  the  model  school  carried 
on  here  six  days  of  the  week,  with  its  seventeen  classes  occu- 
pying the  audience-room,  gallery,  class-rooms,  and  often  the 
low  flat  roofs  around  the  court,  afford  an  interesting  spectacle. 
With  their  thorough  drilling  of  ten  or  eleven  years  in  mathema- 
tics and  languages,  enabling  them  to  speak  fluently  Urdu,  Per- 
sian, and  English,  not  to  mention  Panjab'i,  their  mother  tongue, 
and  with  their  thorough  Bible  and  religious  instruction,  to 
which  a  pious  elder  of  the  congregation  devotes  all  his  time, 
what  a  povver  they  would  be  for  good  if  they  would  but  take 
their  stand  on  the  side  of  Christ !  At  the  last  communion  at 
which  I  assisted  here,  fifty  communicants  were  present,  many 
of  them  from  the  ranks  of  the  poor  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city, 
and  one  of  them  walking  in  from  his  village,  ten  miles  distant, 
as  Brother  McKee  informed  me  he  was  accustomed  to  do 
regularly  every  Sabbath. 

Within  the  east  Gujranwa'la  mission  district  are  two  church 
organizations,  a  large  Sabbath-school,  four  unorganized  cen- 
ters, a  dozen  villages  in  which  Christians  reside,  five  day- 
schools  for  Christians,  an  aggregate  roll  of  about  three  hun- 
dred communicants,  and  over  eleven  hundred  children  and 
youth  under  instruction ;  whilst,  according  to  a  recent  letter, 
more  villages  were  inviting  Brother  McKee  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel to  them  than  he  found  it  possible  to  visit. 

We  are  already  familiar  with  the  Girls'  Schools  in  Gujranwa'- 
la, and  will  not  delay  our  hurried  journey  by  stopping  to  visit 
them,  but  will  make  a  passing  call  on  Miss  McCulIough,  at  the 
home  of  the  lady  missionaries  of  this  station.  The  loss  of  Miss 
Calhoun  is  felt  here ;  Miss  Wilson,  also,  is  gone  to  America 
for  a  much-needed  rest.  What  is  to  be  done  for  those  ten 
schools  in  the  city,  with  their  hundreds  of  girls?  What  for 
those  three  hundred  Zand'nas?     What  for  the  many  Christian 


THE    MISSION    AFTER   THIRTY    YEARS.  503 

women  in  the  outlying  villages,  and  for  the  heathen  women 
also?     What,  I  repeat,  is  to  be  done? 

Brother  Swift  will  receive  us  gladly  at  his  own  house  near  the 
city,  and  will  tell  us  with  a  veteran's  enthusiasm  of  his  itinera- 
tions far  into  the  jungles  of  West  Gujranwa'la ;  of  the  eagerness 
with  which  the  Gospel  is  listened  to  by  people  of  both  high 
caste  and  low;  of  his  ten  villages  in  which  the  name  of  Jesus 
is  already  confessed ;  of  his  village  schools  now  organizing ; 
of  the  two  hundred  Christians  or  more  under  his  care;  and  of 
our  Brother  Tha'kur's  pioneering  labors,  through  which  the 
light  of  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  Son  of  God  is  penetrating 
the  darkness  of  "  the  regions  beyond." 

Returning  twenty  miles  by  the  road  we  came,  and  changing 
cars  at  Wazi'r'abad',  we  reach  Sial'kot  by  a  branch  railway 
opened  as  late  as  January,  1884.  Here,  on  the  south  premises, 
at  the  oldest  house  in  the  mission,  we  find  Miss  Gordon,  the 
senior  member  of  our  mission  band,  busily  engaged  in  the 
Girls'  Boarding  School.  Miss  McCahon,  the  regular  principal,' 
being  compelled  to  seek  a  rest  in  America,  the  importance  of 
training  these  thirty  girls — the  hope  of  the  mission  in  more 
respects  than  one — demanded  attention,  even  though  Zan'd'na 
visitation  in  Sial'kot  must  be  suspended  for  a  time,  and  Jh'i'- 
1am  temporarily  deprived  of  Miss  Anderson  to  relieve  Miss 
Gordon  during  the  hot  season.  The  boarding  school  is  look- 
ing forward  hopefully  to  the  day  when  it  will  occupy  better 
quarters  than  the  old  enclosure  and  its  dingy  little  rooms. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lytle,  with  their  only  child,  live  next  door. 
The  lithographic  press,  which  originated  from  the  necessity  of 
copying  lectures  for  the  theological  students,  and  which  has 
just  issued  a  much  needed  Panjab'i  translation  of  Matthew's 
gospel,  and  is  daily  growing  more  useful  and  important,  occu- 
pies a  small  portion  of  Brother  Lytle's  time ;  the  city  boys' 
school,  with  some  four  hundred  scholars,  which  on  the  Sab- 
bath is  converted  into  a  Sabbath-school,  together  with  pastoral 
labors  connected  with  the  church  at  Sial'kot,  affords  him  addi- 
tional employment;  the  many  Christian  families  distributed  in 


504  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

the  villages  throughout  his  district,  with  the  schools  for  their 
children,  and  other  work  organizing  in  many  places,  constitute 
tlie  most  important  part  of  his  charge ;  unless,  indeed,  we  ex- 
cept his  thousand  villages  scarcely  yet  reached  by  the  gospel, 
and  the  important  district  of  Pasrur',  with  its  Christians  in 
some  thirty  villages,  which  being  now  without  a  missionary, 
is  an  additional  charge.  Whether  or  not  Brother  Lytle  would 
have  come  to  India  had  he  foreseen  the  burdens  that  were  to 
be  thus  early  laid  upon  his  shoulders,  I  am  not  authorized  to 
say;  but  I  may  venture  the  assertion  that  he  would  now  gladly 
accept  of  help  if  offered.  He  thinks  that  the  number  of  inqui- 
rers at  the  present  time  in  his  mission  district  exceeds  that  of 
those  who  are  already  Christians. 

Proceeding  three  miles  northwest,  over  ground  of  sad  his- 
toric memories,  we  reach  the  house  occupied  by  the  deputy 
commissioner  in  the  days  of  the  Sepoy  mutiny,  now  the  prop- 
erty of  the  mission,  and  occupied  by  the  Senior  Professor  of 
our  Theological  Seminary  and  Training  Institute.  Near  by 
we  observe  newly-built  quarters  for  some  fifty  students,  and  in 
some  of  the  spare  rooms  of  the  house,  or  perchance  at  times 
under  the  shade  of  neighboring  trees,  we  find  Dr.  Stewart  em- 
ployed in  training  his  students  for  the  good  work  of  the  Lord; 
whilst  Mrs.  Stewart  is  instructing  the  wives  and  daughters  in  a 
class  by  themselves.  The  Seminary  and  the  Training  Insti- 
tute, like  the  Girls'  Boarding  School,  are  looking  forward 
hopefully  for  the  rising  up  of  that  substantial  and  serviceable 
edifice,  which  is  to  afford  satisfaction  to  both  professor  and 
student,  giving  visible  form  as  well  as  efficiency  and  perma- 
nency to  these  important  institutions. 

Both  of  the  children  of  this  mission  home  are  here  to  glad- 
den the  hearts  of  their  parents,  the  dreaded  day  for  packing 
up  "their  little  things"  apart  from  those  of  their  mamma,  for 
the  long  voyage  and  cruel  separation,  being  as  yet  in  the  hap- 
pily distant  future. 

Borrowing  a  conveyance  from  a  brother  or  a  sister  in  Sial'- 
kot,  we  next  direct  our  course  eastward  to  Scott  garh,  cross- 


THE    MISSION   AFTER    THIRTY   YEARS.  505 

ing  the  treacherous  Deg,  and  pitying  from  the  bottom  of  our 
hearts  the  poor  dumb  animal  as  he  labors  through  the  long 
tedious  mile  of  deep  river  sand,  more  exhausted  than  by  the 
remaining  twenty-five  miles  of  the  journey.  Here  the  three 
bright,  intelligent  children  are  as  much  delighted  to  see  stran- 
gers coming  to  their  out-of-the-way  place,  and  as  joyous  in 
entertaining  them,  as  are  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Martin  themselves, 
eagerly  telling  us  all  the  latest  news  of  their  older  sisters  far 
away  in  America.  Three  present  and  four  absent,  the  largest 
mission  family  now  in  the  field,  make  this  at  once  the  happiest 
and  the  saddest  of  our  mission  homes. 

The  good  work  among  the  Megs  in  the  Scott  garh  neigh- 
borhood being  quite  familiar  to  us  already,  we  will  leave  this 
place  by  passing  a  few  miles  southward  to  Mira'h.  Here  Paul 
Nasa'rah,  trained  in  childhood  to  serve  the  cruel  heathen  god- 
dess Ma'ta,  but  now  an  ordained  minister  and  a  devoted  ser- 
vant of  the  Son  of  God,  will  give  us  a  cordial  welcome.  On 
a  recent  communion  occasion  his  flock  began  on  the  morning 
of  the  Sabbath  to  gather  in  from  villages  far  and  near,  not  to 
the  church  (for  they  have  none),  but  to  the  pastor's'  house, 
with  its  small  rooms  and  ample  court.  No  enclosure  but  this 
roofless  court  being  large  enough  to  contain  the  congregation, 
they  must  wait  for  the  blazing  sun  to  set  behind  the  western 
wall.  From  the  early  morning  the  people  continued  coming 
throughout  the  day,  seating  themselves  in  groups  wherever  a 
little  shade  could  be  found,  not  to  gossip,  but  to  learn — not  to 
talk,  but  to  listen;  whilst  the  missionary  and  native  pastor, 
with  their  wives  and  all  other  available  helpers,  were  busily 
employed  in  instructing  them  until  four  o'clock,  the  hour  ap- 
pointed for  the  communion  service.  And  now,  unleavened 
bread  and  unfermented  juice  of  the  grape  having  been  pre- 
pared, and  the  yard  carpeted  with  coarse  mats  and  borrowed 
blankets,  two  hundred  and  thirty  dutiful  disciples  sat  down  to 
eat  and  drink  in  affectionate  remembrance  of  the  Lord  who 
redeemed  them,  where  but  thirteen  years  before  there  was  not 
one  Christian.  Their  thank-offering  of  fifteen  rupees  consisted 
partly  of  handfuls  of  grain,  which  were  cast  in  of  their  penury. 


506  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

Dr.  Martin  warms  with  enthusiasm  as  he  tells  us  of  his  dear 
flock  of  a  thousand  Christians,  and  their  children,  distributed 
over  his  mission  district  as  large  as  the  State  of  Delaware,  in 
more  than  one  hundred  villages ;  of  his  thirty  village-schools, 
ten  Sabbath-schools,  two  organized  churches,  and  nearly  a 
score  of  centres  for  future  organization;  of  the  "great  door 
and  effectual  opened,"  the  deep,  widespread,  but  quiet,  leaven- 
like movement,  and  the  overwhelming  evidence  of  the  Holy 
Spirit's  work;  and  of  the  growing  influence  of  the  Gospel 
among  the  higher  castes.  If  we  ask  him  about  the  future 
prospect  of  the  work,  he  assures  us  that  apostasy  among  these 
Christians  is  almost  unknown ;  that  they  tell  one  to  the  other 
what  they  know  of  the  Gospel,  and  never  forget  what  they 
have  learned;  and  that  whilst  the  movement  pervades  his  en- 
tire district,  yet  some  of  the  most  important  recent  accessions 
have  been  from  the  immediate  neighborhood  where  it  first 
began. 

The  worthy  doctor,  who  formerly  felt  burdened  with  the 
responsibility  of  a  million  souls,  feels  now  somewhat  relieved, 
since,  by  a  readjustment  of  boundary  lines,  his  parish  has  been 
reduced  to  over  three  hundred  thousand. 

Returning  now  to  Sial'kot,  and  taking  the  train  by  the  way 
of  Wazir'abad'  and  Labor  to  Amritsar,  and  continuing  thence 
north-eastward  by  the  new  railroad  opened  in  1884,  we  reach 
Gurdas'pur  by  this  circuitous  route  easier  than  by  the  short, 
direct  route  over  bad  roads,  deep  sands,  and  a  bridgeless  river. 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Caldwell,  and  their  little  Sarah,  will  welcome  us 
at  the  mission  home  west  of  the  city.  A  three  minutes'  walk 
brings  us  to  the  mission  church,  a  substantial  brick  edifice, 
with  audience-room  thirty  feet  by  thirty-three,  and  two  side- 
rooms,  fronting  upon  a  main  thoroughfare.  Here  the  congre- 
gation of  twenty  members,  and  the  Sabbath-school  of  thirty 
scholars,  assemble  for  worship  and  instruction,  and  the  people 
of  the  city  gather  to  listen.  Brother  Caldwell  tells  us  that  for 
want  of  missionaries  the  Zana'na  Hospital,  near  the  church,  is 
closed,  and  that  he  has  no  city  schools  to  show  us,  his  great 


THE    MISSION    AFTER   THIRTY    YEARS.  $OJ 

work  being  in  the  surrounding  district.  He  justly  remarks 
that  his  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  converts,  with  four  Chris- 
tian schools,  five  unorganized  centres,  and  six  Sabbath-schools, 
distributed  over  a  dozen  villages  of  this  new  parish,  together 
with  his  systematic  efforts  to  carry  the  gospel  into  the  some 
five  hundred  remaining  villages,  afford  him  and  his  helpers  all 
the  work  they  are  able  to  perform ;  and  we  observe  that  this 
work,  together  with  the  temporary  charge  of  an  adjoining  mis- 
sion district,  is  already  giving  the  youngest  of  our  foreign  or- 
dained missionaries  the  careworn  appearance  of  a  man  of  years. 
From  Gurdas'pur,  proceeding  eight  miles  northward,  we 
enter  the  now  vacant  mission  district  of  Pathankot,  only  to 
look  in  upon  Awan'kha,  a  place  which  awakens  precious  mem- 
ories in  the  bosom  of  the  writer.  Here,  at  a  time  when  Mu- 
hammadan  opposition  was  peculiarly  intense,  a  solitary  Chnli'rd 
was  converted.  Soon  after  followed  large  accessions,  the  erec- 
tion of  a  little  eighty-dollar  building,  and  the  organization  of  a 
church,  a  Sabbath-school,  and  a  day-school.  Here  we  dis- 
pensed the  Sacraments,  solemnized  marriages,  and  sympathized 
with  the  afflicted.  Here,  too,  we  spent  our  last  Sabbath,  at- 
tended the  last  workers'  monthly  meeting,  listened  to  farewell 
addresses  from  the  brethren  assembled  from  the  two  mission 
districts,  and  received  the  substantial  tokens  of  gratitude  and 
love,  on  the  eve  of  our  departure  for  America,  March,  1885. 
One  hundred  and  twenty  communicants,  with  their  children, 
now  worship  at  Awan'kha,  where  the  first  convert  was  bap- 
tized on  the  9|:h  of  March,  1879. 


Conclusion. — Two  and  thirty  years  ago,  in  our  quiet  coun- 
try home  on  the  banks  of  Wheeling  creek,  the  partner  of  my 
life  and  labors  sat  by  my  side  as  we  prayerfully  and  seriously 
debated  the  important  question,  whether  to  "go,"  or  not  to  go? 
We  decided  that  our  life's  work  would  be  richly  rewarded  by 
the  salvation  of  one  soul.  Our  faith,  "as  a  grain  of  mustard 
seed,"  looked  forward  to  little  more  than  a  sowing  in  tears  for 
others  of  a  coming  generation  to  reap  in  joy.     But  7iozv  thirty 


508  OUR    INDIA    MISSION, 

years  have  elapsed  and  passed  into  the  history  of  our  Church ; 
and  when  we  consider  the  number  of  converts  and  their  rapid 
growth,  the  thirty-five  communicants  of  the  first  ten  years  in- 
creasing to  seventy  in  the  next  six  years;  then  this  number 
rising  to  one  hundred  and  fifty,  or  more  than  double,  in  the  next 
four  years,  and  to  three  hundred  in  another  four  years ;  this 
again  to  six  hundred  in  the  following  three  years,  and  finally 
becoming  more  than  two  thousand  in  the  last  three  years  of 
our  history;  when  we  see  churches  and  schools  springing  up 
all  over  our  field  as  fast  as  we  are  able  to  organize  and  pro- 
vide teachers,  whilst  the  number  of  inquirers  and  applicants  is 
greater  to-day  than  our  present  working  force  is  able  to  serve 
— our  hearts  swell  with  emotions  which  words  are  powerless 
to  express,  and  we  can  only  lift  up  our  souls  in  humble  adora- 
tion to  Him  who  "  hath  done  great  things  for  us,  whereof  we 
are  glad y 

I  now  send  forth  this  record  upon  its  errand,  praying  that  it 
may  be  accepted  and  blessed  by  the  Master.  If  perchance  it 
perish  on  its  way  through  the  press,  the  labor  bestowed  upon 
it  will  not  be  fruitless.  The  very  writing  of  it  has  already 
proved  to  me  a  blessing.  The  picture  of  the  past  thirty  years 
of  our  mission,  which  it  leaves  vividly  impressed  upon  mem- 
ory's tablet,  with  joyous  harvest  scenes  rising  in  the  fore- 
ground, brightened  into  strong  contrast  by  the  dark  shadows 
of  grief  and  sorrow  and  evil  days,  happily  vanishing  in  the 
distance,  can  never  be  effaced ;  and  this  picture  is  to  me  a 
demonstration  of  the  truth,  the  divine  inspiration,  and  the  liv- 
ing power  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  more  convincing  and  more 
precious  than  all  the  voluminous  logical  treatises  on  Christian 
Evidences  that  have  ever  been  written,  being  throughout  its 
minutest  details  a  very  counterpart  of  what  we  find  in  our 
Holy  Book. 

But  should  my  story  reach  the  public,  and  prove  in  any  way 
helpful  to  some  discouraged  missionary;  should  it  prpmpt 
some  ardent  lover  of  precious  souls  to  go  forth  into  the  high- 
ways and  hedges,  at  home  or  abroad,  bearing  glad  tidings  to 


CONCLUSION.  509 

the  poor ;  should  it  encourage  some  humble  believer  to  invite 
his  unbelieving  neighbors  to  Jesus,  and  stimulate  him  to  the 
rescue  of  immortal  souls  from  death;  should  it  convince  even 
a  few  of  God's  doubting  people  that  foreign  missions  are  ?iot  a 
failure,  and  that  missionaries  are  not  fanatics  throwing  away 
their  lives  upon  a  fruitless  enterprise;  or  should  it  haply  find 
its  way  into  the  hands  of  some  poor  weary  and  heavy-laden 
sinner,  leading  him  to  the  same  compassionate  Saviour  who 
gives  rest  and  peace  to  the  despised  Chuh'rd  of  India — should  it 
accomplish  these,  or  such  like  results,  great  would  be  my 
reward. 

My  reader  may  wish  to  ask  before  we  part :  "  Do  you  in- 
tend ever  to  return  to  India  ?  "  Many  have  made  this  inquiry, 
adding  with  a  kindly  sympathy :  "  I  think  you  have  done  your 
full  share  of  the  work." 

My  answer  to  all  is :  unless  the  Master  shall  make  plain  my 
duty  to  do  otherwise,  I  fully  intend  to  return.  Judging  from 
the  number  of  converts,  my  last  year  in  India  was  more  fruit- 
ful by  far  than  the  first  ten.  Having  sown  in  tears,  and  lived 
to  see  the  harvest  plenteous — the  laborers  being  few — what 
should  hinder  me  now  from  reaping  in  joy,  while  yet  able  to 
do  my  humble  share  in  bringing  home  a  few  more  sheaves 
with  rejoicing  ?  If  I  read  aright,  Christian  missions,  taken  in 
their  widest  sense,  constitute  the  work  which  our  Lord,  be- 
fore ascending  into  heaven,  assigned  to  us  as  churches  collect- 
ively, and  as  Christians  individually ;  and  according  as  we 
have  done  or  have  not  done  our  part,  our  lives  will  in  the  end 
be  judged  by  Him  to  be  successes  or  failures.  May  the  word 
"  failure  "  never  be  written  upon  my  latter  days ! 

Permit  me  now,  dear  reader,  to  ask  you:  are  you  doing 
your  part — somewhere,  somehow — in  the  great  work  ?  If  so, 
do  you  think  of  deserting  the  enterprise?  or  would  you  ad- 
vise others  to  desert  it?  I  have  never  heard  an  affirmative 
reply  to  these  inquiries  from  any  one  heartily  enlisted,  and  do 
not  expect  such  a  reply  from  you.  But  if,  on  the  contrary, 
self-denial  for  the  extension  of  the    Redeemer's  kincrdora  is 


510  OUR    INDIA    MISSION. 

wanting;  if  you  have  neither  gone  forth  yourself,  nor  sent 
others,  nor  even  invited  an  unbeheving  soul  to  Jesus,  are  you 
satisfied  with  yourself,  and  are  you  willing  to  run  the  risk  of 
being  a  failure?  Oh,  my  dear  friend,  rise  up  and  work  while 
it  is  day !  Do  we  owe  little  to  Him,  who  though  rich,  for  our 
sakes  became  poor?  Is  there  no  reward  for  the  laborer  here 
— no  crown  of  glory  hereafter?  Mere  passive  Christianity  will 
bring  you  little  joy,  will  provoke  the  contempt  of  the  world, 
and  will  ascribe  but  doubtful  honor  to  the  King  of  glory. 
Pray:  "  Thy  kingdom  come,"  as  heretofore ;  hwX.  believe  !  No 
mere  imaginary  Empire  is  that  which  furnished  the  constant 
theme  of  our  Lord's  discourses  and  parables ;  it  is  the  most 
real  and  glorious  of  all  things,  compared  with  which  the  em- 
pires of  this  world,  with  their  boasted  magnificence  and  gor- 
geous display,  are  but  as  the  wind-driven  chaff  is  to  the  ever- 
lasting mountain,  destined  to  fill  the  whole  earth ;  for 

"  God  the  Lord  all  empire  owns, 
And  rules  above  all  earthly  thrones." 

Yet,  such  honor  has  the  King  conferred  upon  you  and  upon 
me,  that  only  when  we  awake  from  our  indifference,  and  going 
forth — 

"  The  Lord's  redeeming  grace  proclaim," 

will  his  kingdom  come.  For  the  heathen  cannot  believe  and 
be  saved  until  they  hear;  they  cannot  hear  without  a  preacher; 
and  the  preacher  cannot  go  until  he  is  sent.  We  must  be  sent, 
and  we  must  go,  and  then 

"  Earth's  utmost  bounds  shall  hear  and  turn." 

Yes,  we  must  cease  to  missionate  sentimentally,  and  we  must 
work;  we  must  set  up  our  banners  in  the  name  of  our  God, 
and  marching  forth  in  bands  and  troops — 

"  Tell  all  the  world  His  wondrous  ways, 
Tell  heathen  nations  far  and  near" — 

making  the  moral  deserts  of  the  earth  resonant  with  the  glad 
tidings,  until  it  can  be  truly  said: 


CONCLUSION.  511 

"  The  great  salvation  of  our  God 
All  ends  of  earth  have  seen." 

Must  your  labor  and  mine  be  in  vain  ? 

Nay,  verily!  not  in  vain.  Can  we  but  sow  in  faith,  though 
it  be  in  tears — 

"  He'll  come  like  rain  on  meadows  mown," 

"  and  they  of  the  city  shall  flourish  like  grass  of  the  earth." 
A  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  when  a  mocking  heathen,  Sanbal- 
lat-like,  said  to  one  of  our  early  converts:  "  Lo!  you  Christians 
are  but  a  handful,  whilst  the  whole  world  is  filled  with  us  Hin- 
dus and  Muhammadans;  what  can  you  accomplish?" — the 
convert  smiled,  and  pointing  to  a  plowed  field,  said :  "  Behold ! 
that  bare  field,  in  which  not  a  blade  of  grass  is  now  to  be  seen, 
when  God  sends  rain  from  heaven  a  single  night  will  cover  it 
with  green." 

In  vain  ?  Though  a  thousand  years  are  with  the  Lord  as 
one  day,  yet  his  time  for  favor — his  set  time — will  come.  Yea, 
it  has  come ;  and  we  have  but  to  turn  our  eyes  toward  yonder 
distant  land  of  the  five  waters,  and  upon  our  delighted  vision 
bursts  the  joyous  scene  of  which  the  prophetic  bard,  three 
thousand  years  ago,  so  sweetly  sang : 

"  On  hill-tops  sown  a  little  com, 
Like  Lebanon  with  fruit  shall  bend." 

And  now,  lest  selfish  pride  rise  up  within  us  to  mar  the  good 
work,  let  us  ever  pray:  "Not  unto  us,  O  Lord,  not  unto  us, 
but  unto  thy  name  give  glory,  for  thy  mercy,  and  for  thy 
truth's  sake  ! "     And  let  us  ever  sing  : 

"  Now  blessed  be  the  mighty  One, 
Jehovah,  God  of  Israel, 
For  He  alone  doth  wondrous  works, 
And  deeds  in  glory  that  excel. 

And  blessed  be  His  glorious  name 

Long  as  the  ages  shall  endure. 
O'er  all  the  earth  extend  his  fame. 

Amen,  amen,  forever  more!  " 


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(512) 


TABLE 

Showing  THE  Condition  OF  THE  Work  IN  each  of  the  eight  Mission  Districts  on  the 
8th  of  August,  1885,  the  Thirtieth  Anniversari  of  the  Mission. 


Ordained  Missionaries  in  field 

Married  Female  Missionaries 

Unmarried  Female  Missionaries   .... 

Ordained  Native  Ministers 

Elders    

Licentiates 

Other  Christian  Helpers 

Organized  Churches 

Unorganized  Centres 

Villages  containing  Christians 

Communicants 

Increase  by  Profession,  first  half  of  1885 

Increase  by  Certificate 

Adult  Baptisms 

Infant  Baptisms 

Sabbath  Schools 

sabbath-school  Scholars 

Church  Buildings 

Boys'  Boarding  Schools 

Girl's  Boarding  Schools 

Theological  Seminaries 

Day  Schools  for  Christians 

"  "     Others 

Scholars  of  the  former 

"  "        latter    

Scholars  in  all  the  Day  Schools 


«  5  '^  S 


O 


29        5 
.    .        12 

491  93 
-  .  1044 
491  "37 


7 

46 

200 

1912 

233 

36 

231 

102 

26 

1076 

5 


SO 
17 

865 

1594 

2459 


33 


(513 


GLOSSARY. 


The  Spelling  of  Hindusta'nT  words  in  Roman  letters  has  become  greatly  con- 
fused by  the  introduction  into  India  of  various  systems  of  orthography,  the  same 
word,  often,  being  spelled  in  different  ways,  according  to  the  different  systems. 
Without  claiming  special  accuracy,  I  have,  in  order  to  aid  the  reader  in  a  general 
way,  aimed  to  spell  uniformly,  according  to  the  following  popular  system  : 

VOWELS  AND  DIPHTHONGS. 

ti,  always  pronounced  as  u  in  rule. 

e,      "  "  "    ey "    they. 

o,      •'  "  "      o  "    note. 

at,      "  "  "      i  "    file. 

at/,      "  "  "  ow  "    owl. 

When  any  other  vowels  come  together 


a,  always  pronounced  as  u  in  fun. 
?',       "  "  "     i   "  tin. 

u,       "  "  "    u   "  pull. 

(7,       "  "  "    a    "  father. 

I,       "  "  "     i    "  machine. 

At  and  ati  are  the  only  diphthongs, 
they  must  invariably  be  sounded  separately ;  as  in  the  words  Rdm-de' -I,  I-sd'-i^ 
Ko-i,  etc.  Care  should  be  taken  never  to  give  a,  e,  ando  their  short  sounds  as 
in  the  English  words  mat,  met,  hot. 

Consonants. —  Ch  is  always  pronounced  as  in  church ;  _§-  as  in  go  ;  h  zs,  in  hill ; 
sh  as  in  show;  w  as  in  way;  y  as  in  yonder,  and  s  as  in  see.  B,f.  j,  I,  m, p  and 
z  are  pronounced  as  in  English. 

ICh  is  generally  sounded  as  ch  in  the  Scotch  word  'loch.'' 

ZT after  a  consonant  is  to  be  distinctly  sounded,  thus :  tk  in  Thd'ktir  is  sounded 
like  th  in  hot-house;  never  as  in  then  or  thin;  dh,  bh,gh  zxiAjh,  always  follow- 
ing this  rule.  The  only  exceptions  are  the  combinations  ch,  sh  and  generally  kh, 
representing  each  a  single  letter,  and  sounded  as  above  explained  ;  but  h  in  the 
words  Giir-mtikh'-i,  Kha'-nd  (food)  and  Sikh,  is  sounded  separately,  according 
to  the  rule. 

T,  d,  r,  k,  n,  and  gh,  represent  the  same  sounds,  or  nearly  the  same,  as  in  Eng- 
lish, and  in  addition,  each  represents  another  sound  foreign  to  English,  which  can 
only  be  taught  orally  ;  the  only  course,  therefore,  I  can  suggest  is  to  pronounce 
them  as  in  English. 

Accent  is  not  recognized  in  Hindusta'ni  literature.  The  lexicons  do  not  mark 
the  accented  syllables ;  nor  do  the  poets,  in  composing  their  beautiful  native 
measures,  pay  any  regard  to  it,  as  writers  of  English  poetry  must  necessarily  do, 
their  poetic  feet  being  constructed  on  an  entirely  different  principle.  Yet  I  have 
observed  that  natives  in  speaking  accent  certain  syllables ;  and  knowing  how 
much  the  English  reader  would  feel  at  a  loss  without  some  guide  as  to  where  the 
accent  should  fall,  I  have  used  the  accent  mark  freely.  In  so  doing,  I  neither 
appeal  to  any  authority,  nor  claim  to  be  myself  an  authority,  only  attempting  to 
give  the  pronunciation  as  I  have  learned  it  during  a  long  residence  in  the  Panjab'. 


Ach''-cha,  good,  well. 

Af-ghan'',  the  name  of  a  people  inhabit- 
ing the  country  west  of  the  Panjab''. 

A-gar',  if,  though. 

Ai^-sa,  after  this  manner, 

Al-lah,  God. 

Al-lah  Ho  Ak-bar — properly,  Allahu 
Ak-bar,  God  is  great. 

A''na,  the  sixteenth  part  of  a  rupee. 

As-man',  the  sky,  heaven. 

A  ta,  meal,  any  ground  grain. 


Aur,  and,  more. 

Ba''-han-gl,   or  ban''-gT,  a  stick  carried 

on   the   shoulder,  with  cords  to  each 

end  for  carrying  baggage. 
Bakh-shlsh',  (in  proper  names,  Bakhsh), 

a  gift,  a  present. 
Ba'-ra,  m.,  ba''-ri,  f.,  big,  great,  very. 
Ba'-ri  Do-ab',  the  country  lying  between 

the  Bl-as'  and  Ra'vi  rivers. 
Bast   Do-ab'',  the  country  between   the 

Bi-as''  and  the  Sat'-laj. 


5H 


GLOSSARY. 


515 


Bat,  a  word,  speech. 

Ba-zar'.  a  market,  a  business  street. 

Be-iman',  without  religion. 

Bha''-i,  brother,  cousin,  relative. 

Bher-ghut,  a  tribe  of  Gipsies. 

Bhi,  even,  also. 

Bi'bi,  a  lady. 

Bih'-tar,  better. 

BoK-te-ho,  the  2nd  pers.  plu.  ind.  of  the 
verb  boPna,  to  speak. 

Brah^min,  a  man  of  the  priestly  and 
highest  caste  among  the  Hindus. 

Bu''-ra,  m.,  bu''ri,  f.,  bad. 

Bu-zurg'',  an  elder,  a  saint,  an  ancestor; 
bu-zurg-on,  of  elders,  etc. 

Cha^-dar,  a  sheet,  a  table-cloth,  a  veil. 

Caste,  a  hereditary  class  of  people  dis- 
tinguished by  their  social  standing, 
religion  and  occupation. 

Chah^-ta  hai,  is  desiring,  art  desiring. 

Chap''-kan,  a  sort  of  coat. 

Char-pa^-i,  a  bedstead. 

Che'-la,  a  disciple. 

Chish''-ti,  an  order  of  fa-kirs'. 

Chiz,  thing. 

Chuh''-ra,  the  lowest  class  of  village 
servants. 

Cooly,  coolie,  or  ku-lT,  a  laborer. 

Cos,  properly,  kos,  a  measure  of  distance 
varying  in  different  parts  of  India  from 
one  and  a  third  to  two  miles. 

Dak,  a  relay  of  horses  or  men,  a  post  for 
conveying  letters. 

Dall,  pulse,  vetches. 

Dar''-bar  or  dar-bar'',  court,  hall  of  audi- 
ence. 

De'-va,  a  god;  de'-vi,  a  goddess. 

Dharm-sa'-la,  a  traveler's  rest-house. 

Dho''-ti,  a  piece  of  muslin  draped  about 
the  body  from  the  waist  to  the  knees, 
in  the  form  of  loose  drawers. 

Dhup,  sunshine,  sunlight. 

Di'-wa,  a  cup  in  which  oil  is  burnt,  a 
rude  lamp. 

Do-ab'',  from  do,  two,  and  ab,  water ;  the 
country  between  two  rivers. 

Do-gra,  the  name  of  a  dialect. 

Doo-ly,  a  kind  of  palanquin. 

Fa-kir',  a  beggar,  a  religious  mendicant. 

Garh,  a  castle,  a  fort. 

Gha-rib'',  poor,  humble. 

G  ha- rib''  kha'na,  an  alms-house. 

Granth,  the  sacred  scriptures  of  the 
Sikhs. 

Gul-ab-das'i',  an  atheist,  a  follower  of 
Gul-abdas''. 

Gul-ab''-i,  rose-colored,  a  girl's  name. 


Gur-mukh''i,  the  language  of  the  granth. 

Gu''-ru,  a  spiritual  guide. 

Ha-dTs'',  traditional  sayings  of  Muham- 
mad. 

Hai,  is. 

Hama''re,  our. 

Ha'sil  kar^-na,  to  acquire. 

Hau'-da,  a  large  saddle  or  litter  used  on 
elephants  and  camels. 

Ho-ja-e-ga,  will  be,  or  will  become. 

Hu''-kam,  order,  command,  permission. 

Hukamdar?  a  corruption  of  "Who 
comes  there  ?" 

Huk^-ka,  a  pipe  in  which  tobacco  is 
smoked. 

Hun,  am. 

In-jil'',  the  Gospel,  the  New  Testament. 

In-kar^,  denial,  disavowal. 

Is,  this,  in  the  objective  case. 

I-sa,  Jesus. 

I-sa''-i,  a  believer  in  Jesus. 

Istan''  or  stan,  a  termination,  signifying 
place  or  country. 

Jain,  one  of  the  sect  of  worshipers  of 
Jins  as  incarnations  of  Deity,  who  de- 
ny the  Shasters  and  disregard  caste. 

Jan''-gal,  or  jun-'-gle,  a  forest,  a  thicket, 
an  uncultivated  place. 

JT,  sir,  madam. 

Jo,  the  relative  who  or  which. 

Ju-lah^  or  ju-la''-ha,  a  weaver. 

Ka,  ke  and  k'i,  of. 

Kach'-cha,  unripe,  unbaked,  built  of 
clay. 

Ka'-dir-i,  a  certain  order  of  fakirs^. 

Ka^-fir,  an  infidel,  an  atheist. 

Ka-ha.r',  a  dooly  bearer. 

Ka^-la  pa^-n'i,  from  ka'-la,  black,  and 
pa'nT,  water,  a  place  of  banishment 
beyond  the  sea. 

Kaman-saz,  a  bow-maker. 

Kar,  do. 

Ka-sl'  da,  a  poem. 

Kat-dal'-o,   cut  off. 

Kaul,  word,  promise,  saying. 

Ka'z'i,  a  Muhammadan  judge. 

Khan,  a  title  of  nobility. 

Kha'-na,  food,  dinner. 

Khas,  a  fragrant  grass. 

Khu-da',  God. 

Khud-a^-wand,  lord, master,  husband. 

Ki-ra'-ni,  a  term  of  reproach  applied  to 
Christians. 

Ko,  to. 

Ko''  1,  any  one,  any. 

Kshaf'-ri-ya,  the  second  of  the  four  grand 
Hindu  castes — the  military  order. 


5i6 


GLOSSARY. 


Lam'-bar-dar,  head  man  of  a  village. 

Lo'-ta,  a  pot,  a  pipkin. 

Ma,  mother;  bap,  father;  ma-bap,  par- 
ents. 

Ma-ha'-ra-ja,  a  sovereign,  a  great  ruler. 

Ma-ha^-wat,  an  elephant  keeper. 

Main,  I. 

Masih^,  Christ. 

Ma'-ta,  the  small-pox;  the  name  of  a 
goddess. 

MauF-a-vi,  a  learned  man,  a  doctor. 

Meg,  the  weaver  caste  of  HindQs. 

Me^  la,  a  fair,  a  great  concourse  of  peo- 
ple, met  for  the  worship  of  some  par- 
ticular deity,  as  well  as  for  trade  and 
pleasure. 

Me-ra,  me-re,  me  iT,  my. 

Mun''-shi,  a  scribe,  a  teacher. 

Na''-bi,  a  prophet;  Na''-bi-on,  of  the 
prophets. 

Na-hin,  no,  not. 

Nakhsh-band''-!,  an  order  of  fakirs'*. 

Namaz'-i,  one  who  prays  regularly. 

Na^-nak,  the  founder  of  the  Sikh  religion. 

Nat,  a  tribe  of  gipsies. 

Na'-ya,  new. 

Na'zir,  a  supervisor,  a  sheriff. 

Pa''  dri,  a  Christian  minister. 

Pai-gham'-bar,  a  prophet  or  an  apostle. 

Pai^-sa,  a  copper  coin — the  sixty-fourth 
of  a  rupee. 

Pa-las'-tar,  a  corruption  of  "  plaster." 

Pan-cha'-yat,  a  court  or  jury,  originally 
consisting  of  five  persons. 

Panj-ab^,the  most  northerly  province  of 
India,  a  name  derived  from  panj,  five, 
and  ab,  waters  or  rivers. 

Panj-ab'-i,  of  or  relating  to  the  Panj-ab'' ; 
the  most  popular  language  of  that 
province;  a  native  of  the  Panj-ab''. 

Pan^-dit,  a  learned  Brahmin. 

Pan'-kha,  a  fan. 

Pa'-o-li,  an  illiterate  man  of  low  condi- 
tion. 

Pas,  near,  in  possession  of;  Us  ke  pas, 
by  or  with  him. 

Pind,  village. 

Pi-ya'-ra,  beloved  ;  fern.,  piya'rl. 

Pu^-rab,  the  east;  pu'-rab  i,  eastern. 

Puf'-tar,  son. 

Rach''na,  the  name  of  the  Do-ab''  lying 
between  the  rivers  Ra''-vi  and 
Chin-ab''. 

Rah,  road,  way,  manner. 

Ra'-jS.  or  ra'-ja,  a  king. 


Rs.,  an  abbreviation  for  Rupees. 

Ruhu-llah,  the  Spirit  of  God. 

Rupee,  a  silver  coin  worth  nearly  half  a 
dollar. 

Sab,  all,  every,  the  whole. 

Sach,  true. 

Saf,  clear,  clean. 

Sa'-hib,  sir,  master. 

Sai''-yad,  a  title  of  Moslems  who  claim 
descent  from  Muhammad. 

Sa^-hib-a,  a  lady. 

Sa-lar,  a  chief  or  prince. 

San'-skrit,  the  language  of  the  gods  and 
the  Hindu  scriptures. 

Sa-in,  lord,  master. 

Sak-ta  hun,  am  able. 

Sa-lam',  salutation,  peace. 

San's'i,  a  low  tribe  of  thieves. 

Sar-dar',  a  chief,  a  head  man. 

Sa-war'',  a  rider,  a  mounted  Sepoy. 

.Se,  from,  with,  than.  , 

Shah,  a  king. 

Sid'-ha,  straight,  right,  simple. 

Sid'-hi,  fem.  of  Sid'-ha. 

Sikh,  a  disciple,  a  follower  of  Na'-nak. 

Si-pa'-h'i,  a  soldier,  whence  Sepoy,  a 
native  soldier  in  British  service. 

Sir,  the  head,  top. 

So'-na,  gold. 

Sor-mar'-di,  an  order  of  fa-kirs'. 

Su'-ar,  a  hog. 

Sud'-ra,  the  fourth  or  lowest  general  caste 
of  the  Hindus. 

Sa-hi'-fe, books,  writings. 

Tah-sil',  collection,  the  district  allotted 
to  a  tax  collector. 

Tau-rat',  the  Old  Testament ;  particu- 
larly the  Pentateuch. 

Tez,  sharp. 

Tu,  thou. 

Tu'si,  you,  a  respectful  form  for  tum. 

Us,  him,  her,  it. 

Vais'ya,  the  third  general  caste  of  Hin- 
dus, consisting  of  tradesmen  and 
farmers. 

Ve-ran'-da,  a  portico. 

Wa-zir',  first  minister  of  State. 

Yak'-ka,  a  one-horse  vehicle. 

Yi-su,  Jesus. 

Za-bur',  the  psalms  of  David. 

Zail-dar,  a  native  officer  over  a  number 
of  villages. 

Za-min'',  the  earth,  ground,  soil. 

Za-na'-na,  female,  pertaining  to  women, 
female  apartments. 


■■'  TW. 


\  >^h 


Date  Due  ''''".'  "" 


1    1012  01108  3211 


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